There Was Always A Warmth Between Us
by BlueWindNinja27
Summary: Dustin POV..,angst, heart break, fighting, insanity,the'S' word,drugs,naughty language, blood..harsh! OOhhhh, hey maybe you should read this! lol..rated for sexual situations and language..Please r&r..You guys rock!
1. He is only human

Ninja. But what is a ninja? The physical. The inner. The emotional. He is cunning and swift. He is level headed. Strong. True to himself. Yeah......I got that part. But is he not only human?

Fighting Evil Ninja Aliens and defeating Lothor was probably the greatest , most honorable thing I've ever done. Being a part of a winning team of great fighters. And most importantly, good friends. More like , family. It was almost like I can hide behind my powers. Like I could push aside my own personal problems, to fight the enemy. I was a Power Ranger. Dude, that's nuts!!!! And because of us, Lothor's gone. And so are our powers.

It's been a year since I last morphed into the Yellow Wind Ranger. Damn....I miss it. It's been way hard to deal with just being....well....me. Dustin Brooks. Yeah....that guy....you know...the flakey, dumb one that has not a care in the world. Who goes with the flow. Things haven't been as easy as you think. Things haven't felt exactly the same as they did before all of this. And as for all of us, we're definitely not like we used to be...

Blake and Hunter decided to finish school and go away to college. Well, not really away, away.....but you know, away enough that we don't see each other much. Sacred Heart Of John Paul University, to be exact. Cam has a newfound love of seeing the world and traveling. He's been just about everywhere, from Alaska to China. Moscow to Honolulu. Man , this guy is all over!! Right now, he's in Japan visiting family. I guess from rarely ever leaving Ninja Ops, he needs a major break. I haven't seen him in a while, and to be honest, I really miss him. Him and his smart comments. Shane's been on the road competing with his skate team. He's been doing awesome and I catch his demo's whenever I can. Tori.......well.........Tori's good. Tori's.....lets just say she means more than words can say. That probably explains why I haven't said anything....

As for me, I'm busy trying to get settled. Trying to do something with myself. I guess I kinda thought I'd be a Ranger forever. I still work at Storm Chargers , of course. And Motocross is still my thing. C'mon dude, do you really think I could give it up?? I haven't really competed in a while, but I've been seriously training with my freestyle. And for some reason, this has gotten harder rather than easier. I just been real hard on myself lately. And it really affects my performance on the track. I'ts like my self-confidence went with my powers. A piece of me went. I miss the feeling....I miss the adrenaline rush...dude, fighting those Evil Alien Ninja Freaks was intense!! But those days are gone. And now It's time to be an adult...to figure out who I really am...what I really want in life...and who I want to share it with. And dude, to be honest, I really don't think I'm ready for all of this.

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disclaimer: yeah, sorry I shouldve said all this at the beginning, lol..this is my first time posting a fan fic but not my first time writing one :) as you all know I do not own Ninja Storm or any rights to it for that matter :( boo! Actually I'd just wanna own Glenn McMillan ..but anyways..so origially this story was rated nc-17 but being that its a no no i had to chop it to an r rating..sorry if this story offends anyone..but hey thats life..i mean its not crazness but certain scenes were intense!!! please read and review! be honest i can take it!! and thanks for reading my first chapter! yay!!

cyn


	2. Here's my new address

"Dustin!!" Tori yells out my name , the same as everyday, except this time she sounds excited. I feel butterflies fly around in my stomach.

"Dustin!! Dustin!!" She's yelling as she searches around Storm Chargers for me.

Here I am, standing at the doorway to the back room , covered in grease to my chin. Maybe I'll just hide from her...See how mad she gets...

"Waldo!!!!!" There, she said it. Dammit, Tor!

"Hey! Here!! I'm here!! What I tell you about calling me that?!" I say, walking over to her, attempting to clean the grease off of my hands with a dirty rag.

The look on Tori's face was almost scary. She stared at me with big bright eyes and smiled uncontrollably. She looked so happy. And beautiful...

"Guess what!!!! You will never guess what!! " She jumped at me. I flinched, 'cuz you know, Tori likes to beat me up.

"Um...wait...lemme guess..." I ponder, playing with my chin.

"I betcha won't!!"

"Give me a chance! Hold on!" I say as Tori Jitters and jumps around like she's on speed. Hey, maybe that's what it is....

"One guess....then I'm tellin' !!" She laughs.

"Ok..ok ..ok! Um....you won the lottery!!!" I jump up and down. Dude that'd be sweet!

Tori smacks my arm. "You wish!" She says, "No! No! But seriously...."

Ok ...Tor...Now why pause.......Just tell me already!!!

"seriously............" I gesture with my greaseball hands for her to spit it out.

"We got the apartment!!!!" Tori jumps into my arms and hugs me tight. Wait....Did she just say....

"WE GOT THE APARTMENT??!" I grab her shoulders and shake her a little, "That is so awesome!! Dude I am so stoked!!"

"Ha! I knew you would be!" Tori grabs me and hugs me , again. In the middle of this great news, I seem to sink into the moment. Tori in my arms. God if only she knew....

"So.." I quickly break away , "when do we move in?"

"Well.." Tori's smile is amazing... "We can move in by the weekend . And we need to pay the landlord the first two months rent in advance. So that's like..um..ohh..$800 each..can you swing it?"

"Um..yeah..sure..I'm all over it."

"Oh great! Dustin, I am so excited you have no idea! This is going to be so great!!" Tori's face lights up the entire room. "I'll be in charge of the decorating! And we'll have lots of healthy food in the house , 'cuz you know what Sensei always says.."

"Woah!" I say , cutting her off, "Maybe we should, you know, for right now just focus on moving our stuff into the place first." Yeah..now I'm the level headed smart one. Ha! Plus, she's crazy if she thinks we're eating veggies!

"Sorry! I'm just way out there! I can't wait to move in, roomy!" Tori giggles as she nudges me with her shoulder. I wish she'd hug me again..

"Me neither, Tor! Hey, there's no one else I'd rather live with!" Ok ..why did I just say that...I mean it is the truth but..

Tori laughs and squeezes my arm. "Ditto!!" She squeals.

Ouch!! "Ouch! That hurt!" I rub my sore arm, where she had squeezed the life.

"Sorry, D..." Tori giggled. Wow....I really love it when she laughs...Even if it is **me** she's laughing at.

"So hey ...what are you doing tonight?" I ask, scratching my head. Why am I always so nervous around her now?

"Oh, I dunno..I was thinking of hanging with some girlfriends.." Tori looked down at her feet...then back at me. "Why?"

"Oh ..well..just wondering...I sorta got nothing to do..but it's cool. I'll just eat and watch some T.V. ... same as every night." I laugh feeling a little upset..

Tori places a hand on my head, "Awe!!" She giggles. She pats my head and softly nudges my chin. And I just wish I had the nerve... I glance at her with puppy dog eyes. Is she making fun of me? She makes a pouty face," You know, if you don't mind a bunch of chicks yappin' all night and watching girly flicks, you are more than welcome to come with."

"Wow...well..I'm not sure if that's an invite or a yeah-so-I-feel-bad-for-you sympathy trip." I say, a little defensive.

Tori looks at me with those ' now would I ever do that' eyes of hers.

"Dustin! Seriously! Come with..It'll be fun. And you can get to meet my friends." Tori pleads. Do I really have to think twice?

"Ok...I mean, since you put a gun to my head." I laugh. Tori joins in on the laughter and smacks my arm. She really does love to abuse me doesn't she? Ouch.....

"Great! We're gonna go to my friend Vanessa's house. You drivin' or am I?"

"I'll do the driving.. You need a break." Plus I'm really excited about my new car. It's a silver kia...It's sweet! And driving Tori around in it is an even sweeter deal!

"Thanks..Driving all the time can be a total drag.." Tori puts her hands on her hips. Her white shirt rises just enough to show a small glimpse of her smooth stomach.

"Of course, Tor. So what time am I picking you up?" I say, feeling guilty for totally checking her out.

"Um...around 7-ish?"

"I'll be there."

"You better!" Tori jokes, "Listen, I gotta run and take care of some stuff, so, I'll see ya at 7"

"No doubt." I say, wishing she'd stay for a minute more.

"Alrighty, see ya later, D!" Tori leans in and quickly pecks me on the cheek. She skips, giggling, out of the store. Kelly walks over to me, watching Tori bounce away. She turns to me, still startled –my heart pounding, my skin feeling hot. I must be bright red by now. Dammit, Tori!

"Wow...whats up with Tori? She must be incredibly happy about something , 'cuz I've never seen her..you know..giggle so much." Kelly questioned," Well, I mean, except when she's around Blake, but-"

"Yeah....so..anyway.." I interrupt. C'mon do we really need to bring up Blake and how she feels about him? Not that I dislike him or anything but...

"Did I say something wrong?" Kelly asks.

"No. Sorry, Kel...Tori's just real happy 'cuz we got the apartment." I force a smile.

Kelly's face brightens with a huge smile as she jumps into my arms almost knocking me over, "That's great news, Dustin! Congratulations!"

"Yeah...Thanks a lot Kel."

"What's the matter with you, you don't seem as excited as you should be." Kelly always knows when something's off..even a little.

"Nah...I'm totally stoked.." You know, pretending to be happy isn't all that easy.

Kelly smirks at me. I don't think she buys it. "Hmmm" She sarcastically stares at me as she walks away, "Well, you know what to do if you need to talk, babe!" She yells as she heads back to counting out the register.

"Thanks Kel! You're the best bost ever!" I smile, yelling back.

With a huge sigh, I walk back into the back room to finish the oil changes I was previously working on. As I seem to constantly be swallowed by large amounts of grease, I think about Tori....God, I wish I could stop thinking about her, but for the past six months, it's been hard as hell. I'll start to think of her...how amazing she makes me feel...how beautiful she is...her eyes...her body...oh..her body...uuuugghhh!!! See, there I go again....And I tell myself, okay, no more thinking of her. Just anything but her...and it only makes me think of her even more...Damn these feelings! Oh well...tonight should be interesting.....


	3. Try to forget your sunken eyes

Hello again..here is the third chapter...I feel that its kinda weak but the character "Vanessa" needed to be introduced...trust me this story only gets better...also, I wont make you wait too long between chapters 'cuz the story has already been written for the most part..all i need to do is edit and type it out :) Im way excited about that! please read and review!! thanks so much for taking the time to check out my stuff! a couple of shout outs and i promise we'll get right to the chapter.....

Dyrne-Faemne--- Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!! Oh man i totally agree with you! we really need to clone him! and oh man, i sit there(im a dork and i have the whole season on tape and the dvd's) and i study the interraction between dustin and tori! you are so right..so right! imma check out your fic's too!!

Kat-- oh my navy lovebug, thanks so much for last night! lol um...and reading of course...hehe thanks for the review..love ya!! we need to have another ninja storm day..we need our damn morphers! cant wait to read ure story!

ok...now on with the story!!!!!!!!!!

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Ugghh...bikes! Bikes! Bikes!!! I mean, I love 'em but, damn. I think this week has been the week of bikes just breaking down. Broken down bikes that** I **have to fix. Since Hunter went to college, I'm the only mechanic at the store. I don't know how I ever did it by myself before Kelly hired Hunter. I am so done!

After work, I went home to take a nice, warm , needed shower. I feel a little better , but still exhausted. Here I am now, sitting in my car, on my way to Tori's house to pick her up. I'm stopped at a red light that seems to be taking forever to turn green. I turn to check myself in the rear view mirror. Just to double check. I'm wearing a brown button down collared short sleave, with a yellow t-shirt underneath, and some cargo pants. Yeah...the usual.. nothing special. At least my face looks ok..no grease marks. I've been trying so hard to make Tori notice me. I mean, really notice me. But to be honest, I'm on the verge of giving up completely. She'll never see me as anything but—

'BEEP! BEEP!'

Startled, I jump, snapping out of my daydream. I didn't notice that the light had turned green. And the cars behind me were pretty pissed.

"C'mon kid!! Pay attention!!" This middle-aged guy in a suit, driving a lexus, shouted at me from his car window.

"Um...sorry." I say, but I don't think he heard me. I quickly hit the gas and drive off. Feeling way vulnerable, I really don't feel up to fighting with anybody. Especially over a green light. Two blocks from Tori's house, I start to get nervous. What is up with me? I've known this girl for over 10 years...but lately, every time I see her, It's like seeing her for the very first time. And she's the most amazing girl I'd ever seen....

Ah, Tori's house.. I pull up in front and look at my cell phone. 7:04....I'm late. I'm surprised she hasn't called—

'RING, RING'

Woah! That was pretty freaky! Scared the hell out of me! And it's Tori...nervous....butterflies....

"Hey, Tor," I answer my phone after taking a deep breath.

"You're late! As usual! Oh, Dustin I guess you'll—"

"I'm right outside your place." I say, cutting her off.

"Oh..ok!" Her voice changes mighty quickly from angry to not so angry. I guess she wasn't all that mad after all, "I'm coming now!" -click-

"Um...ok..." I speak to no one on the other end. Oh man, I'm staring at her front door, my heart jumping out of my chest. I need to really smack myself out of this. And just then, the blue door to her house opens and there she is. She closes the door and locks it behind her with her key and insane amount of keychains. To be annoying, I beep the car horn....

"C'mon we don't have all day, lady!!" I yell at her. She throws an 'ill-yeah, whatever' glance at me, "Blah!Blah!Blah!" She sarcastically laughs as she heads for my car. And woah, dude....if anyone can look absolutely stunning in a regular old pair of wide-leg jeans, it's Tori..without a doubt..

"Five minutes late,huh?" Tori climbs into the passenger seat and closes the door. She automatically pulls on her safety belt.

"No, actually four minutes late." I correct her. She's wearing a super low cut, tight, almost see through, ocean blue tank top. Oh man, I need to stop staring at her chest...

"Yeah, whatever!" Tori chuckles, "You're still late...what did Sensei tell you about punctuality? Haven't you learned anything from ninja training?" Tori is smiling at me and I feel numb. She's gorgeous...

I find a way to break my oogling, "of course I did! C'mon now!" I say, driving off. Tori pulls out her CD case from her bag. She starts going through her CD's , looking way confused.

"Don't put on anything bogus!" I glance at her every 5 seconds. Dude, everyone that rides in my car takes over my radio. Whats up with that?

"Oh..hush!" Tori picks a CD from her case and pops it in the player.

"Lemme and Cambria??" I know Tori better than she thinks. And yup, it's Coheed and Cambria...again.

"Of course!" Tori smiles, looking at me, looking at the road. I sigh and shake my head. But, honestly, Tori can do whatever she wants..and I can't mind it enough to tell her no. And just then, it hits me- I so don't know where I'm driving to...

"Um..Tori?" I turn down the blasting music, catching Tori's singing voice.

"Hey!" Tori pouts.

"Tori, where's Vanessa's house? I don't know where she lives remember?" I truly think that I have smart one potential...yeah, totally..I can so be the smart one!

"Oops! Sorry Dustin.... That would help if I told you that her house is totally back that way." Tori points behind us. Nice. Oh well, gotta pop a U-turn..

As Tori directs me to Vanessa's house, I find myself staring at her every chance I get. I hope she doesn't notice me checking her out, and thinks that I'm like some creepy pervert or something. I mean, I'm not, at all. But sometimes I think about it. You know, think about her...like that. Dammit! I really need to shake these thoughts before it becomes way too obvious, what I'm thinking about..yeah..that would be way embarrassing...

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"So this is Vanessa's house?" Duh, Dustin! Sound more like an idiot.... Tori looks over at me with a nod. "yup" Here we are, me and Tori..we walk up the stairs to Vanessa's front porch..Tori rings the doorbell to the huge, white house.

"Is she like, rich or something?" I lean in and whisper to Tori. She lets out a little giggle,"Just a little bit....oohh, here she comes.." Tori says as the thumps of footsteps come closer and closer until a figure is standing right behind the door. Suddenly, the door opens to reveal a tall brunette with big blue eyes.

"Tori!" She squealed hugging my blonde friend with crazy excitement.

"Hey Nessa!" Tori says seemingly startled. She points to me in an attempt to start the introduction process, "Oh! This is—"

"Hi..I'm Vanessa." Vanessa says, cutting Tori off, holding out her hand for me to shake, staring right at me.

"Dustin...uh..nice to meet you." I say. Feeling insanely awkward, I shake her hand.

"Likewise" Vanessa says, her eyes still glued to me. Tori's face turns sour and she lets out a sigh..."ok.." She mumbles under her breath. We walk into the huge house. Through a long ,creepy hallway , we make our way into a huge living room.

"Hey..where's Elaine?" Tori asks, puzzled to see an empty room.

"Oh, She so bailed! Something about not feeling well..whatever...she's full of shit." Vanessa barks. Woah! Chicks are way harsh... "Looks like it's just you, me and Dustin!" Vanessa looks at me smiling. Wow..I can't help but look away...sometimes making eye contact with pretty girls just doesn't work well with me...we sit and make ourselves comfy on the couch.

Vanessa and Tori talk and giggle ...I'm so lost and out of place for sure....

"So you guys are moving in together, huh?" Vanessa asks, placing her hand on my knee..Woah..shes so touching me... I sit stiff and very still...I never was too good with the ladies.

"Yeah" I smile and nod, "It's gonna be great."

"I can't wait!" Tori glances at me. Me, returning her glance with a smile, as usual.

"So much crap to move though...got so much work to do before we can actually settle." I say, unsure of anything that comes from my mouth at this point.

"Hey, you'll be on your own! That's so worth the headache of moving! So awesome!" Vanessa adds. And she's so right...but, she left out the part about how hard its gonna be to live with the girl I'm completely in love with..and the hardest part is that she doesn't even know...and the even harder part is that I can't tell her..and the mondo worst part of all is that even if I poured my bleeding heart all over the place in her name, she'd still only see me as Dustin, her best friend who's a real air- head...oh and did I mention a doofus...and a dork...should I stop now?

"So Dustin.." Vanessa breaks my daydream, "Tori's told me so much about you...But she left out the part that you are a major hottie!"

"huh?" What? Me? Dustin? Are you sure?? My cheeks turn bright red.. I giggle, "Um.. uh...." I don't know what to say to that! Dude, why can't Tori ever say anything like that?

Tori's face turns red," Um..wow...ok then.."she says, slight annoyance in her voice, "well that was random."

"Hey, it's the total truth!" Vanessa flirts. I'm way uncomfortable.. I'm way nervous..and way wishing it was Tori that was flirting with me.. I don't say much...just nodding, blushing and smiling as Vanessa flirts with me all night. I mean what do I say? Maybe she's just trying to be nice..who knows...Tori changes the subject..And vanessa turns it into a lets-flirt-with-Dustin conversation.... And this is how the rest of the night goes...of course until they pop in a movie and I fall asleep on the couch...


	4. You're pins I'm needles

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em..blah to that! Well anyways here's chap 4... and oh man! We are reaching the point in a story when everything starts to get real good and crazy!! Trust me there will be some craziness in the chapters to come.. I'm so excited! Well anyways thanks for the reviews!

Dyrne-Faemne- OMG!!!! I so didn't even notice that!! Oh man I'm gunna check that out!! ;)

well heres the next installment...please r & r!!!

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"Alright! Alright! I'm up!! Shit!" Damn alarm clock! I roll over and slam my palm down on it. Aaahhhh....no more ringing. Rubbing my eyes, I look over at the clock. 6 AM?? Are you serious? Already? Oh well...I guess that's what I get for coming home at 3 in the morning on a work night.. I can call out...Nah...I gotta go to work...

As I try to get up out of my bed, Tori floats around in my mind. As usual, every morning...So what exactly does a ninja think about when he first wakes up in the morning? The girl he wants, and can't have..

And what does he do next? Realize what an emo loser he is, rolls out of bed and washes his face...brushes his teeth...looks at his sad reflection...well, you get the picture...

Damn, 6:30 already? How did that happen? Oh well, I go about my morning rituals. Shower, hair, breakfast, blah,blah....

By 7:20, I'm heading out the front door to my car, kissing my mom goodbye as I leave. The sun hurts my eyes like mad, and I throw my hand to my brow like a visor. I'm definitely gonna need a whole pot of coffee just to function even a little...This is gonna be a long day...

As for last night, it was pretty interesting.. I mean, everything leading up to me passing out on Vanessa's couch during the movie...As weird as I felt, It's always sweet when any girl showers you with attention. And not to mention, shes way cute..

Tori seemed a little quiet on the ride home, but, so did I, I guess. We were both exhausted. And tomorrow is a big day. And equally , painfully tiring....

The cool thing is our apartment is located so convenient for both of us. It's closer to the beach, it's at the center of everything. The only place that's not so close is Tori's new job. She scored a sweet deal at 'Pacific Sunwear' in downtown Blue Bay Harbor. But that's ok..Luckily the both of us drive. And have our own cars.

Being on my own is gonna be weird at first, but if I can handle saving the universe, this must be cake! Being able to handle my feelings for Tori- That's a different story. That's not exactly gonna get any easier now that we're moving in together.

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"Hey Dustin, I really gotta run to my sisters house to help her with something...would you mind closing up shop?" Kelly asks looking kinda sorta desperate. Anything for Kel.

"Not a problem, Kel." By now, Storm Chargers is pretty dead. It's the last 15 minutes before quitting time. I doubt any more customers will come tonight.

"Oh Dustin!" Kelly grabs her purse and runs at me with open arms, "Thank you so much! You truly are something special!"

I squeeze Kel as tightly as I can without crushing her air supply. She's so small..it's cute.. "Don't even mention it." I'm special...that's right..

Kelly, in a rush, sprints back and forth, grabbing her keys, her jacket, checking the register, "Ok, ok..so I already counted the drawer so unless we get any more customers, which..." She looks her watch over, "We probably won't...all you have to do is close it for the night...and uh...just straighten up as best as you can.." As Kel frantically speaks, I nod obediently. "Don't worry about anything really but locking up and make sure the backdoor is locked! And turn out the lights ok....and-"

I put my arm around Kelly and walk her to the door, laughing, "Don't worry Kel...I got this under control. I've closed up shop a million times, you know this... you need to go help your sister..and call me if I can help, too."

Kelly turns around and smiles at me, "Thanks D..I'll see ya-Wait!!!!! You're moving tomorrow!"

"Yeah, that'd be tomorrow." I scratch my head...Too much work!

"Good luck, congrats again..tell Tori I said hi and have fun!" Kelly heads out the door and I follow her standing at the doorway watching her to her car..just to make sure she gets to it ok.

"Thanks Kel! Goodnight!" I yell out to her, waving her off.

Wow...that was fast...5 more minutes left..it won't hurt to close a little earlier than schedule, will it? Nah! I lock the door and flip the 'open' sign to 'closed'..feels good to be done for the night...the sun had set a while ago and the moon is full....These double shifts are brutal...but anything to help Kel out..she's at work everyday.. I know she's exhausted...

I start to close down the register, when my pants start vibrating...Woah! That scared me a little..okay,okay...a lot..I look at the number... It's Shane!!!

"Dude!!!" I answer.

"Hey!!!! Boy, do I miss you bro!!" He says.

"Likewise!"

"I'm on the road right now man.." Shane says through the noisy background.

"Awesome, bro!! Hey where you headed this time?" Im so stoked ...I really miss this knucklehead..

"Dude I am so coming home!"

"Right now?!? Yeah?!?"

"Yeah, D!"

"Alright! Yo man, Tori is gonna be so stoked!" Shane's coming home! Dude he's like my brother. He's family and it feels good to know that he's not far..and he's coming home..

"Yeah... I heard you guys got a place!" Shane's voice calmed, "How's that gonna work?"

Confused, I squinch my eyes a bit, "Uh....what do you mean?"

"Dude..c'mon....do you really think I'm that dunb? I'm only your best, best friend!" I can hear a smirk in shane's voice.

"Um...I'm so lost right now bro" Yeah..I'm so lost...well at least the register is closed out...I'll straighten up while I talk to Shane.

"Dustin...It's so obvious that you've got the major hots for Tori!" Shane blurts.

"What?? No!!!" Oh my God!! He can't know that! I haven't told anyone! I mean- **NO ONE** knows! What the- ?!

Shane cackles, "Dude it's ok..I'm not gonna blow your spot.. I'm here for you.."Shane's cackling slows to a sigh," I know how hard it is to care for someone and not be able to tell them..it's a drag."

"Yeah...." Wait a minute...No!! I'm so not blowing my spot! "I mean, if I actually did like Tori like that, I would totally understand, but, dude...you are so wrong it's not even funny.."

"Well ..whatever, bro...you keep telling yourself that." Shane's smirking, I can feel it...Eh..the store looks good enough.. I'm beat!

"You at work, still???" Shane asks.

"Yeah, I'm leaving now.. Dude, so how close are you?" I say, totally getting off the Tori subject...grabbing my stuff and hitting the lights.

"Yeah..well..see that's what I wanted to ask you.."

"Um..ok" I push open the door, close it and lock it. With the phone in one hand, I use my free hand to pull the gate down. Ask me what?

"Well..see, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon...I'll kinda sorta need a place to crash..and I know you and Tori are just moving in, but-"

"Dude hell yeah you can crash! That's perfect too...You can help us move our shit!" Shane wants to crash? Hell yeah! Plus it's a good way to keep the tension clear for now..on my part anyways...the store is completely locked...I head for my car.

"Awe, do I have to?" Shane's voice is whiny.

"..Dude.." I say firmly.

"No doubt, man!" shane laughs. His laughter quickly fades to a serious, almost scared tone,"Dude..maybe we sould consult Tor first...I mean you know how she gets..and she likes to hit..hard!"

Dudes got a point...

"Nah! She'll be excited! Don't stress... The three of us, like old times!"

"Ahh man! I'm excited! Call you when I get there!" Shane exclaims.

"Sounds good..see ya tomorrow!"

"alright!" Shane laughs.

"Later bro"

"Peace"

-click-

I close my phone and plop it on the passengers seat as I start up the car...Aahh sleep awaits....As soon as I start to drive off, my phone rings again..I lazily reach for it, as it rings and dances around in the seat..It's Tori..butterflies...

"Hey Tor"

"I didn't think you were gonna pick up.." She sounds half asleep.

"You ok?" The first word that blurts from my mouth.

"Yeah.." Tori pauses..sighs..ok...now I'm worried...somethings wrong..

"Ok..where are you?" I say, driving, talking, and rolling my window down...I hope I don't get stopped by the police.

"Home.." She says. Whats with the forced one word answers?

"I'm coming by" I say.

"Will you, really?" She asks.

"I'm on my way now I'll ring your phone when I'm outside"

"I'll be outside waiting for you" She says. And for a second it almost seems like she means it in that way. You know, **that** way.

"Ok.. give me like 2 minutes" I say. Tori means more to me than anything else in my life..Even Motocross..

"Just don't rush..be careful" Concern in her voice..reassurance that she does care about me..even if it is just as a friend.

"Ok"

"Bye"

-click-

"Um ...ok.....dammit! I'm such a dousche!" I say out loud,slamming my phone closed. I throw it back onto the passenger seat.

The road is real dark, darker than usual..but, I'm just about there. Funny how quickly one forgets how tired he is when the female calls..

I'm on Tori's block now ..and..there she is...sitting on her front steps. She's wearing bed clothes and her hair is up in a messy bun. As I pull up and park in front of her, she quickly stands up and heads towards me. Her blue tank top and plaid blue and green pajamas look so amazing on her. Without saying a word, she opens the passenger side door and hops in.

"Ouch!" She jumps up, sitting on my phone, and hits her head on the roof of the car, "Ouch!!" She yells again.

"Awe, Tor...you okay?" I say, throwing off my seat belt to move my phone and gently rub her head.

"Ha! That was kinda funny.." She slightly giggles. Me, still rubbing her head. She looks at me, looking at her. We lock eyes and I feel like I'm wearing my heart all over my face and she's reading everything I feel for her. And for a second, she looks just as nervous as I am. She suddenly looks away. Dammit! If there was any moment to go for it, that would've been it!

"But you're ok?" I ask again.

"My butt kinda hurts!" Tori laughs. I can't help but smile. She's gorgeous..and she smells so good right now, I can't take it..

"I can rub it for you" Oh my God! Did I just say that out loud?? Oh no...I feel my face turning all shades of red.

Tori laughs, hard and loud,"Wow! Hey, could you really?" She says. Oh man, this is so a trick question!

I hurry to change the subject. Man, I am such a loser, I can't believe that made its way out of my mouth. I hope she doesn't realize how totally embarrassed I am..

"Dude, I'm worried about you, you sounded unhealthy over the phone just now. You ok? For real, for real?" I say. Here we are sitting in my car, in front of her house.

"I dunno.. I mean, I'm ok.. But, I just got stuff on my mind that's all..." Tori says looking at her hands, fiddling with her thumbs.

"Wanna talk about it?" I ask.

"There's nothing really to talk about.. I just..wanted to see you."

Really? Me?? Wait.. she can't mean anything by that..nah...she probably doesn't...

"Awe!! So sweet!" I smirk, trying to completely sound unphased.

Tori rolls her eyes and nudges me, "Whatever, don't get your head all gassed up!"

"Ha! Ha! Defensive are we?" I playfully taunt her.

"Yeah, yeah..You better be ready to move your ass off tomorrow!" Tori laughs.

"Um ..yeah..." remembering Shane's phone call, "Dude Shane so called me like right before you did!"

"Wow, really? Oh man, what'd he say?" Tori jumped, her eyes wide, as she stares at me, waiting for my response.

"He's coming home tomorrow!" I excitedly blurt.

"That's awesome! Yeah, he knows about our place, and us moving together."

"Um..yeah..He needs a place to crash , so I said he can stay with us." Waiting for Tori to hit me, I brace myself.

"Ok,," She says.. wow..she didn't hit me this time..wow..something really is wrong with her today..

"I just wish that you coulda let me know before you said ok..Not that I mind but, you know..it's only fair."

"I know, Tor..I'm sorry" I say squeezing her soulder gently.

"It's cool." She softly says. Our eyes lock again. I want to kiss her so badly right now..so badly..

"Hey, Dustin..." Tori breaks the moment..maybe it's only a moment to me..her voice still sounding a bit weird...

"Yeah?" I ask. My voice comes out low and shakey.

"Oh..nevermind.."

"No, what? What is it?" Please God let her confess her love for me....wishful thinking...

Tori sighs, "Well.." She pauses, struggling with her words.

"Tori.." I say, "You can tell me anything. You know that."

"Dustin.." Tori starts. Pausing, then sucking her teeth slightly. She turns to look at me, "Why don't you have a girlfriend?" .........Huh?......

"Huh?" I ask..unsure of the motive behind this random question..

"Ugh!" Tori growls, "I mean, so many girls are into you, and you just don't pay them any attention."

Girls? Into me?? Where? "Wow, really??" I say smiling, feeling a jolt of confidence.

"Yes!" Tori looks shocked,"You didn't notice Vanessa last night? Oh God, it was so sickeningly obvious!" She sticks her tongue out.

"Well she was real nice..and liked to touch me!" I laugh. Tori looks at me with a smug face."Well what does it honestly matter?" I ask.

"Hey Dustin...don't take this the wrong way but..." Well I guess she's so not gonna tell me she loves me..damn. "Are you..you know...."

"What?"

"Are you into guys?"

"Huh?? Well that was totally random.." I laugh. But Tori's not laughing.." What? Are you serious?"

"Wait...No..." Tori turns red and stutters I mean not that theres anything wrong with being gay..it's just if she thinks I am, then I have no chance...

"It's just that....it's been so long since you even showed any interest in anyone that, I dunno..."

"So then I must be gay if I'm not banging a different girl every night..I got ya.." I sarcastically say. Tori looks down. She looks upset. "Hey, I'm not mad at you." I reassure my hot blonde friend. I don't think she's buying it.."Hey I mean if I was gay, I'd so bang Hunter!" I say. Wow..yeah..so....Hunter is hot! Tori giggles.

"I'm sorry.." She says.

"I mean Vanessa is way hot but-"

"You think Vanessa is hot???" Tori's face wreaks of disgust. Ha, maybe she's jealous.. I think she is...

"Yeah she's hot." I say, smirking.

"Whatever....It's just that after Euyi and Marah , you just-"

"What?" I say annoyed , totally cutting her off. "Look I'm sorry if Euyi and Marah fucked me over...I'm sorry that I don't really want to start any type of trust building relationship with anyone else right now, ok!" I bark.

"I'm so sorry to bring up Euyi...She-" Tori tries to apologize for re-opening a wound, thats so deep.......you just don't know..

"She just left..left me...like she didn't even care..like our whole deal was nothing...but you totally knew that already so whatever....lets just get off of this now please!" Ok now I'm pissed.

"Dustin..." Tori tries to speak.

"No, it's ok....that's a good idea , I'll just totally turn gay....'cuz chicks are nothing but problems.."

"Dustin, I was just concerned..i'm sorry" Tori feels horrible. I can see it all over her face and hear it in her voice. She won't even look at me.

"Tori...you just don't know...you just don't know.." I say shaking my head.. I could spill my love for her right now...

"So tell me then! I want to help you! I want to be there for you!" She pleads.

"Look you won't be able to help ok... I feel way stupid." I shake my head.. I just wanna go to sleep now...

"No way! You're not-"

"Tori, are you ok? I mean enough about me....are you ok??" I change the subject.

"I'm fine..i'm just worried about you-"

"Look I'm fine...so then, I'll see you tomorrow, ok"

Tori's head swings around. She stares at me with glassy eyes..holding back tears. Her face reads of hurt and shock...more hurt. I don't mean to hurt her..but I'm hurting so bad right now..for so many reasons.... I need to go...

Tori Stutters, "I-I-"

"And make sure you're ready Ms. Strong One, 'cuz you're so helping me lift those boxes!" I laugh, breaking the tension.

"Of course" Tori cracks a teary eyed smile. She opens the door, and at this moment I realize how much I don't want her to leave.. Tori goes to get out of the car, but stops and sits back down. She looks at me like a puppy dog in the rain. She's beautiful.. and she's really, really sorry...Tori leans over to me- Oh my God!!! Is she gonna kiss me????????????? My heart starts to pound and I feel myself starting to sweat, losing my breath....

Then----She kisses my cheek.. Oh, dammit!

"You're my best friend...I never meant to hurt you..I'm sorry." She says choking back tears. Oh Tor...please don't cry...

"Awe..Tor.." I grab her and squeeze her in a huge hug. She laughs with relief and squeezes me back, "You're my girl, Tor....Nothing will ever change that...now go get rest.."

"Ok.." She climbs out of the car. As she closes the door, she leans in the window. We look at each other and smile for a minute..and I know she can feel my love..even if she doesn't know it, she can feel it...She waves as she turns to walk away.

"Hey Tor!" I yell out to her. She spins around to face me."For the record," I laugh, "I'm not gay"

"I know , Dustin, I know" Tori says. Shaking her head , she turns to walk to her house. She opens her door and then she's gone. I start the car and finally go home..Too bad I now have all this baggage floating around in my head...and my heart hurts...again...


	5. I'm weary of eyes upon my scars

Wow....me....gay.......ummm.....I wouldn't say gay....maybe bi......well, anyway.. man I can't believe Tori thought I was gay... If that's the case, shes not gonna want to date a gay guy....maybe she so notices me checking out Hunter......But either way, I am totally comfortable enough with myself to say that another guy is hot..so whats wrong with that??

Uuugghh! Toris' got me buggin'! I try to impress her, try to make her think of me in a different way..and I end up sending her gay vibes...

And for her to bring up Euyi- That's not fair!! She so knows the way I felt about that girl and she so knows what she did to me. That hurt that she brought her up....And Marah...Blah to Marah!! Man, screw girls, screw guys, screw everyone!! I'll be A-Sexual...there...unless Hunter- Oh nevermind....

2:30 AM....I really, really have to get some sleep....I haven't gotten much in the past couple of days and tomorrow, with the moving and everything, is gonna suck hard if I don't get at least 4 hours in....But I can't stop thinking...tossing and turning...

Since Euyi, I shut myself down completely..she was my first everything...my first real date, my first real kiss, my first girlfriend, my first time, my first love...Wow, and I really did love her. So much. I had to have loved her, 'cuz then it wouldn't still hurt, ya know? Well, to make a long story short, she was everything to me. And I thought I was everything to her, too. But I guess that was all a big pile of shit 'cuz her and her family picked up and left out of nowhere....I found out when she was gone.. she didn't even tell me ...she said nothing...everything was perfect...the next day before she left, we had so much fun.. and I wish I could've just known that it would be the last time I held her in my arms.. the last time I saw her smile...but anyway, so I saw one of her girlfriends and she spilled the beans.. apparently, she swore up and down not to tell me because Euyi said that she couldn't handle saying goodbye..that it was easier for her to just go..what?? I didn't know how to take that..at first I felt for her... I was all like, awe...shes probably crying right now and so sad...then I was like.. well, fuck that! That's a tired excuse...She's just a horrible person who left me and that's that...her family moved back to japan. Oh well, who gives! Tori wanted to kick her ass. She left me a wreck..a love sick fool..that sucked.... Then, oh man! Then, Marah!!! Oh dude, she hurt me bad! I guess I took it a lot worse than I should've, but that's 'cuz I was still damaged by Euyi...And the way Marah looked at me, it just felt like there could really have been something... But** X **that 'cuz she fucked me over too...just like the rest of them...

And just cuz I swore off girls and think Hunter is ssssssoooooooooo hot, doesn't make me full blown gay.. and even if it did then so what! I deserve to be happy no matter who I like!! Dammit! And I didn't completely swear off girls, I mean... Tori is a girl...An amazing, funny , beautiful girl...I need her so much, she'll never know..and even if I was to tell her right now, she'd never know the extent...she could be the one to save me... I know it... but I'm too afraid to get hurt again...I'm way too afraid for her to say no...I know she won't laugh at me...but she might laugh on the inside..or to Shane..Man, no! Dude, I really can't handle another heart break..not now..But, I can't tell her.. I don't know what to do...I don't know what would hurt more....rejection, or living with this everyday.... I'm a highly trained ninja!!!!! I'm not supposed to be all lovesick and heartbroken!!

Oh my God, 3:35!! Dude, I need to get some sleep...and now!!

Stop thinking about her.........

Stop thinking about her........

Stop thinking about her......................

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Theres chapter 5..small chapter I know....Dustin lost in his thoughts....so what do ya think of Dustin having a little crush on Hunter??? I think it's the cutest!!

cyn


	6. Best friends can become strangers

"Dude!! Moving is brutal!!" Shane barked, leaning against the counter at Storm Chargers. So yesterday, was so moving day...and it was a massacre! But being there with my two best friends was priceless...

Pointing a wrench at him, I smile, "See I told you! It's no joke!"

"But it's so much fun!!" Tori giggled. She was wearing a long, flowy, blue, Hawaiian floral print skirt with a cute little white tank top. Aaahhhhhh....She jumped onto the counter and sat near the register, near me, hunched over, right next to her. She smells like the most edible fruit...so good... I can't really place my finger on it...smells like....

"Man, you guys look wrecked!" A familiar voice rings throughout Storm Chargers. Suddenly, Tori jumps down from the counter and runs toward the voice..

"Oh my God!!!", She yells..she sounds so happy. Shane looks over at me, still afraid to lift my head.

"Blake!!!" Tori sceams, wrapping her arms around him.

My jaw drops to the floor immediately...Do I look surprised?? Probably not....But, wait, do I look pissed?? Oh...definitely...

Shane nudges my shoulder and the look on my face, you know, the look of pure evil and fiery death, quickly fades to a mask of sheer, bullshit joy... "Oh Blake! Oh Blake!" I squeal, totally mocking Tori. She's too excited to care....That makes me feel worse....

"Hey! Whats up guys?!" Blake exclaims, way too excitedly.. Maybe I'm just bitter..ya think?? Blake and Tori walk up to where me and Shane are standing. I make my way from behind the counter. Blake and Shane hand shake, and half-hug each other..You know , the manly hug....not too much hug...just enough...

"Hey dude! Long time no see!!" Shane smiles.

"I know , man!" Blake makes his way over to me. Way uncomfortable, I hope I'm not too obvious...

"Hey Blake, how's it goin' , man?" I half-hug my navy friend and he pats me on the back kinda hard. My eyes pop open, startled by the sting his hand left on my back...Woah...Dude, whats up with that?

"Hey, Dustin..How's the track been treatin' ya?" Blake laughs. Tori looks over at me...then at Blake...then at Shane...I catch Shane and Tori exchange confused shrugs, while me and Blake nod at each other. I'm feeling more and more awkward by the second..whats all this tension about?

"So....Blake, how's college going? C'mon, we wanna hear all about it!" Tori says, smiling and looking at me and Shane nervously, "Don't we , guys?"

"Yeah, of course, dude!" Shane says, crossing his arms.

"Dude..." I say , scratching my head "Where's Hunter?"

"Good question," Blake looks at his watch ," He shoulda been here by now."

"Well, where was he?....I mean...he's supposed to meet you here?" I add.

"Yeah..he said he had to go meet somebody, and he'd catch up with me.."

"Woah..well, who was he meeting?" I ask, concerned.

"Your guess is as good as mine. He didn't say.." Blake says, quickly turning all his attention back to Tori...I stand puzzled , trying to think where Hunter could be..I do miss riding with him..and Blake.

"College is cool..it's interesting..the only thing I hate is not being able to see certain people I care about." Blake looks directly at Tori. Gee...I wonder who he means by 'certain people'....oh, spare me...Tori blushes, smiling uncontrollably..she looks down and giggles. And I am trying so hard to keep that obvious death glare from posessing my face. I have to break this cheesy, vomit worthy moment.

"Um, yeah...right...so, theres no Motocross track where you guys are?" I say, feeling my heart break a little, while my skin tightens. And I'm guessing, that's 'cuz I'm kinda pissed...

"No...there's not." Blake seems to be annoyed with everything I say. I really don't understand why... I mean... he's only thieving the girl of my dreams right in front of me...maybe **I **should be the one annoyed...

"So, what do you do for sports?" Shane jumps in, glancing at me, making sure I'm not looking like I'm about to murder someone...again...

"Me and Hunter been riding...Not much lately, but we try to as much as we could..we go down to the nearest beach and ride round the wooded area..it's not great, but hey, we make it work, ya know." Blake speaks nonchalantly. He sounds a little off. Maybe college changed him.

"So, we should go riding today, bro! I been so, bustin' out sweet lap times...my freestyle has been giving me a hard time, but-"

"Yeah ...sounds cool, but I got things to do. Tori and I were gonna catch a movie and some dinner." Blake cut me off...Totally rude!! What the hell is wrong with him?? He is so lucky I'm a patient dude 'cuz-

"We are? Um..ok..sounds great!" Tori smiles..looking way unsure of anything that's going on, "I'm off today, that'll work...but you can go riding before-hand if you want, that's not a problem."

"Yeah, man...just a couple of laps." I say, brushing his rudeness off.

"Nah, maybe another time.."

"Dude-"

"Hey, don't you have some bikes to fix??" Blakes' ill-mannered seriousness set off something..and it's not good.

"What?!" Shocked at how nasty his comment was, I stare at him with my mouth open and my eyes widened. I squeeze the wrench in my hand tightly. Shane is grabbing my arm now and I know he knows that I know just what he's thinking. Tori's face dropped and her pale skin blushed to a bright red...No one knows what to say, I guess.

"You heard me! You work here, right?? So go work!!!" Blake scolds.

I feel my face distort, skin burning, fists clenching...my fingers, almost purple, from squeezing the wrench so tight. Tori looks at me as if she's trying to tell me telepathically that she's speechless and she's sorry.

I just feel so angry and embarrassed and just wrong! The only logical thing I could do is walk away...

I nod and swallow hard. I look at Shane, shaking my head , and with that, I walk away...And yeah, I do have bikes to fix..so that's where I'll focus my energy.

"Dustin!" Tori yells out to me , but does nothing. Whatever...she wants to be with Blake, fine...that's cool.. it's not like I expected anything to go my way... I slam the door to the backroom, where Kelly is sorting shipment. She looks up at me...

"What on earth is wrong?" She says reading my face. I throw the wrench at the work bench and it falls to the floor, making a series of loud thuds. Kelly jumps for each bang...

"Dustin!!??" She stands up and runs over to me placing a hand to my chest, "Woah, woah!! What's going on??" Kelly pulls up a stool and pushes me onto it. "Sit down and spill it!" She puts her hands to her hips.

"Oh man, Kel!! He is so fucking lucky I have respect!" I shake my head, breathing in and out, trying to relax but my blood is boiling and my heart is racing like mad.

"Who? What happened?" Kelly has her hands on my shoulders, holding me still on the stool.

"How the hell? What the fuck, man??" I yell...pissing myself off even more.

"Dustin!" Kelly yells at me,"Tell me what's going on!"

I take a deep breath and look at Kel with fiery eyes, "Blake!"

"He's back?" Kelly exclaims, addled by everything that's going on.

"Oh, he's back alright!!! With a stick up his ass and a major attitude problem!!" I push the hair from my face.

"What happened? He got smart with you?"

"He totally chumped me! In front of everyone!! I don't know what the hell his problem is but he better fix it!!"

"Wait...just now???" Kelly asks, still way confused and baffled.

"Yes!!!"

"Are you kidding?? What did he say??" Kelly pulled up a stool for her to sit on in front of me.

"Everytime I said anything he came out with crazy attitude and just totally brushed me off left and right..then I was like , ' hey lets go riding' and he played me!! He was like making plans for Tori without even asking her and that shit pissed me off!! Oh!! And then!! Oh, this is the best part!! Yeah, this takes the cake! He said,' Hey don't you have some bikes to fix? You work here so go work!' "

Kellys' eyes widened with the drop of her jaw. She stared at me as I stared back at her, biting my bottom lip, furious as all hell. Kelly suddenly blurted, "Oh my God! What on earth?? I.....I...What's gotten into him? No one said anything?"

"Not at all!! No one said one word! He just fucking chumped me in front of my family! And no one said nothing! Screw that, Kel! Screw that!"

"Yeah..definitely! College made him a prick, huh?"

"I don't think it **made** him a prick...I think it just brought his prickness out to the surface."

"I can't believe that he said that to you!" Kelly shook her head, still in awe at Blake and his actions.

"yeah and that's just it- It was only me he was acting like that to! What did I ever do to anybody that I always get shit on? I think I'm a good person...I just... I don't get it." I'm feeling a little calmer now.. my boiling blood is down to a simmer and slowly ,but surely , my yelling is reducing to a calm voice.

Kelly looks at me and sighs, "Look at me, Dustin." She says softly. I return her glance with a pissy face. "You are an amazing person. Whoever can't see that in you, doesn't deserve a second of your time. Don't ever feel belittled by anyone. Never let them make you feel anything short of who you are." Kelly smiles as she speaks to me.

"And who am I?" I question. Maybe the question I'm asking out loud should really be aimed towards myself.

"Are you kidding?" Kelly laughs," You are Dustin Brooks! The most loyal, gracious, sweet, bighearted, funniest, amazing person I know. That's who you are. You don't forget that, ya hear me!"

A smile finds it's way on my face and I know Kelly truly means every word. "Awe..thanks Kel." I say automatically grabbing her and stealing a hug, "Thanks.." I whisper to her.

"Oh! You know I love you Dustin!" She hugs me back, "I gotta love ya to put up with ya!" She laughs. I join her in laughter as she stands up and fixes her clothes.

"Well, I gotta get out on the floor before people decide to steal and act a fool." She places her hand on my shoulder. "If you need me-"

"I know!" I smile. I feel much better. I feel like me breaking Blakes face is petty and dumb. But, that's just for now...

Kelly squeezes my shoulder and walks towards the door.

"Hey, Kel!" I quickly call out. She spins around. "Thanks."

She throws up her thumb and winks at me. Giggling, she walks out onto the sales floor. Leaving me alone with my tool and my bikes. Not to mention my thoughts...

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Soo there is is! Chapter 6! I had a lot of fun writing this one..please tell me what you think ! thanks

cyn


	7. The letters I'll never send

A big black box that says, in big black letters, written with a dull sharpie marker, 'Kitchen Stuff', sits to my left. To my right, another box, the same size, sits with the words, 'Living Room Fluff' written on the side with the same marker. The same handwriting. Tori's handwriting. And I swear it, if these boxes could talk, they'd be pointing and laughing at me...bastards....

"These are the last of the boxes...Well, aside from yours and Tor's personal stuff." Shane walks into the room, fresh from his bathroom break.

I sit on the floor between the boxes.

"Hey dude, where are you?" I hear Shane walk around the living room.

"Right here." I raise my right arm. My hand poking out from the boxes.

"Ha! What are you doing hiding between the boxes?" Shane laughs.

"Breakin', dude...you know..." I put my head in my hands,then look up at Shane, "We should make Tori finish this!!! We gotta work while she's out with Blake?? Boo to that!"

Shane kneels down in front of me, "Dude...don't be so harsh to Tori..she's not the one being a dick."

I sigh and bite the inside of my cheek slightly, in thought.

"I mean, dude, I totally understand how much this whole situation sucks for you...trust me." Shane supports himself by leaning on the 'kitchen stuff' box. I sit, Indian style, staring at my friend, blankly.

"Why would it suck? I mean my friend, or should I say, so-called friend, is acting way harsh towards me for no reason and-"

Shane interrupts,"And he's on a date with the girl you love..it sucks, bro, I know."

"Ugh! Would you stop saying that I'm in love with Tori! It's totally bogus!!" I wish to death it was...

"Look, bro...you can keep denying how you feel, but it only makes it worse." Shane is right. But I just can't do anything about it, so why even bother.

"Dude...I......" I don't even know what to say at this point besides the obvious, " I'm so in love with her, it's killing me." I confess, looking at Shane through glassy eyes.

Shane grabs my shoulder, "Dustin, don't worry...everything will work out the way it's supposed to. Just don't deny your feelings."

"Dude...." My heart feels like it's slowly dying in my chest. And every day it gets worse."I don't even know what to do... I see her...she's like my sister, bro! And to her, I'm just Dustin...And that's bad!"

"Bad?? Dude, how is that bad?"

"It's bad!"

"Bad because she knows you better than anyone? Bad because she'd do anything for you? C'mon, dude, don't sell yourself short!" Shane pushes me a little. I'm staring at my hands. This conversation feels weird.

"Yeah..but no one takes me seriously...no one sees me as anything more than just the air-head who's always laughing and joking around...who happens to be good at riding...and that's it. Tori doesn't want someone like me...and plus I'm tall and kinda skinny.. I'm not buffed out and sexy..."

"Oh, and Blake is??? Ha! You're way more buff than he is! That dude is small!" Shane laughs.

"Whatever..Ha! That is true..and kinda funny.." I can't help but laugh. Me and Shane share a much needed moment of pure laughter. It feels way good to laugh with my best friend again. But all the 'ha-ha's' quickly turn into reality and my heart still hurts.

"Ugh!!!!! This has got to be the last thing that I ever would've thought I'd be buggin' over! C'mon! Ya know?" In a frustrated huff, I grab at my hair and pull. Ouch! That hurt more than I intended it to.

Holding my head in my hands, I look up at Shane as he starts to speak, "But, Dustin...look at what we're dealing with here. Look at the reality of all of this." His voice is soothing, almost as if Sensei were speaking through him. Kinda weird, but, I'll take it... I nod as he continues,"This is life. People change. Feelings change. Dude, when we were young, we weren't thinking about girls or our emotions- None of that stuff! Dude, it was all about toys and video games!"

"Ha, yeah...those were the days!" I think about all the times me and Shane would be in my room , glued to the Sega, not a care in the world, aside from getting to the next level. We were like....8 years old. Or something like that. A slight grin finds it way on my face.

Shane plops on the floor, Indian style, in front of me. Through all of this, I was wondering how he could hold that crouching position for so long. Ninja skills, I guess. Shane continues his timeline,"Yeah, but, then we started getting into sports. Dude you remember how all of our free time was nothing but practice..nothing but skating and riding..Dude, **you** even skated too for a while." Shane pokes me in the chest.

"Yeah I did.." I say remembering all the times I fell and hurt myself,"And it really wasn't for me. I just didn't get it like you did."

"And you found Motocross..You found that..and you had your thing, and I had mine."

"Yeah, we'd switch constantly..."

"Exactly..things change, people don't play video games forever.."

"Well, some of them do!" I say referring to my video game obsession.

"Well, most people don't play video games forever.." Shane corrects,"People move on, people grow.."

"Yeah...you're so right, dude..."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing to feel differently about something...or someone...I mean, dude, what happened next.."

"Ninja school! Then we were like totally booked with training!" This game is fun! See, what happened next..

"Dude, then it was straight up, no joke, real-deal,save the world craziness from then on! See how drastically our lives changed forever since we became rangers.." Shane and I, sat there, between the boxes, excitedly taking a trip down memory lane, telling an awesome story of best friends.

"And, dude, we never, ever looked at Tori like she was hot ...not at all...she was barely even categorized as a girl." Shane was right.

"Dude, yeah..but then I really just realized how insanely beautiful she is..and she's so...oh, man..dude, she's so everything I've ever wanted and she's been in front of me the whole time..and-"

"And it's perfectly ok to feel the way you feel...Don't feel bad about it and don't feel like you have to hide it..it's ok, man...she'll understand." Shane has made his point. Loud and clear. I sit, sighing, wishing I could just tell her.

"But she doesn't feel the same way, I know it." I say, ruling out every possible solution to this problem.

Shane grunts, "But, dude, how do you know that? You never asked!"

"Yeah, but c'mon! She thinks I'm a goof! her funny, token dumb friend. Not her boyfriend." I say whining,"And dude that's just the truth."

"Dustin, bro... I love you man-"Shane palms my shoulder.

My face lights up to hear my best bud say that,"Dude!!! I love you too!" I say, taking in this moment between brothers.

Shane laughs,"Don't get all teary eyed, now!!" He mocks my excitement,"But in all honesty, you are my brother,man. I love you and I'm always here for you..I wouldn't steer you wrong." I slap Shane's hand, still placed firmly on my shoulder.

"I know man.. I know.." I nod, sincerely. "Thanks."

"Of course, bro" Shane smiles,"Now, at the same token of it being ok to feel for her, you gotta totally be ok with her decision on how she ultimately feels for you."

"Blah!! See , now that's the part that blows!!" I wave a pointed finger, "Oh and another thing, I LIVE WITH HER!!!!!!!"

"I can tell you what to do 'til I'm blue in the face...or....red." Shane laughs.

"Good one!" I giggle.

"But, you have to do what you think is right. I can just advise you. And be here for you."

"Yeah, I know..." I shake my head, wishing death to my emotions altogether, at this point,"If it wasn't for Blake, I swear!"

"What?"

"It'd be a hell of a lot easier..But, she's too into him."

"Not if he's giggin' on you. Tori flipped out on him, earlier, when you walked away."

"really?" I ask, feeling special. See, I knew she'd stick up for me.

"Dude, yeah.... she did. She walked out and everything." Shane recalled smiling.

I felt a lot better for like half a second, then realized that she was with him right now. "Yeah, well I guess it wasn't all that serious, 'cuz she's still with him." Disappointment and hurt in my voice.

"Dude, trust me, it'll fall into place."

"I hope so." I lower my head. I look over to my left. Then my right. "And now, what to do with these boxes." Smacking the 'Living Room Fluff' box, I pick myself up on my feet.

"All over it!" Shane follows.


	8. Bitterness of one left alone

Disclaimer: yup, so I still don't own the rangers..Poop on that..but however, I do have this next chapter for ya...thanks for reading my story and giving it a chance!! it is far from over.......

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Ahhh....The last of the boxes are finished...well, at least for now. I mean, I still have some of my own piled on the floor in my new room.

Tori wanted the bigger room, so we compromised. Actually, I just gave in and said ,'Ok..sure..anything you want'. So that's where I am now, going through a box of mine. It's full of Motocross tapes , pictures and magazines. It would be cool if I remembered which box my V.C.R. was in. But for now, it's just tapes and magazines falling apart everywhere. Tori was always so much more organized....

Shane decided to take a little trip to his mom's house. So, here I am, by myself, attempting to make sense of my room. I lean over my bed, which at the moment is nothing more than two mattresses' stacked on the floor, to catch a glimpse of the time. Wow...it's 11 o'clock and Tori isn't home yet. I'm feeling really lonely and pathetic, here in my dimly litted room, and not so cozy. Not to mention, sitting here in silence. I can't find my radio.. It's in one of these boxes that I'm too lazy to open. My T.V. sits on the floor, blank, and not plugged in. We don't have cable just yet, but we ordered a DirecTV, so it should be here in a couple of days.

I'm drowning in my thoughts and memories – good and bad. And I really can't take how it's making me feel. Kinda like a completely empty glass that used to be spilling over with milk. Yep...used to be...until girls and life took over. I thought I might have never felt this bad ever again. I thought Euyi totally drained me of that. I was completely wrong...as usual. And I'm starving!!! But there's nothing in this place to eat!

"Screw this." I say out loud. I get up and scrounge around for my sneakers.....Found 'em! I throw them on and head for the door, only to realize that I failed to swipe my keys.

"Duh, dumbass!" I sigh and walk back to my room..Oh wait! No! I threw them on the kitchen counter...I'm starting to realize how much I truly do suck as I grab my keys with my 'Pussy Wagon' keychain. Makes me smile every time... gotta love Tarantino...

Heading for the door, I trip over myself, almost stumbling to the floor. "Nice!" I say sarcastically, feeling as if every single person on earth totally just saw that and all at one, started pointing and laughing hysterically at me. The door is in front of me now, but it seems so far away. With a deep breath, I extend my hand over the doorknob. Suddenly, it starts turning by itself. What the? Creeped out, I jump back fast, immediately breaking into ninja pose. I'm ready to bust someone's ass, as the door opens. And all I see is long blonde hair.

"Tori?" I say, relieved, in one way – Angry in another. "What the – I thought you were some sick robber dude, or something!" Dropping my fists, I run a hand through my hair. I know I should mind my business. I know I shouldn't say anything.

"Well, what are you doing right near the door anyway?" Tori giggled, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the door and crossed her arms, smiling at the fact that she scared the shit out of me. And I'm glad that she finds this so damn funny.

"No, I wasn't standing in front of the door for my health, if that's what you were thinking.." I say, ticked off, jiggling my keys nervously.

"Ok.... I was just kidding Dustin....you know that." Tori smiles. God, when she smiles I just can't be mad. At anything.. The world becomes the most beautiful place. The brightest, most tranquil place. And I never want to leave.

"I know.." I look down at my feet, embarrassed at myself for being snappy with her. I lose my words and I could swear I feel my insides turn to mush.

"So.." Tori lightly taps my chin with her finger, so I look up at her. My cheeks, hot and tingly. I'm trying not to smile like a love-sick puppy...

"So..." I look at her. Then quickly look away.

"So, what were you doing, silly?" Tori places one hand on her hip and the other on the door.

"Well, I was just about to go for a ride. Maybe get some food. I'm way starved. But, you already ate, so..." So trying my hardest to avoid yelling and spilling how harshly I hate this whole Blake situation.

"Yeah.." Tori sighs. This silence is craziness! Tori clears her throat, "So..where's Shane?"

"Visiting his mom. I'm just here.....alone." The self pity and sarcasm in my voice is as thick as the mud stuck in my tires after a rainy day at the track. From the corner of my eye, I notice a slight frown on Tori's face. Guilty, almost.

"I see you finished unpacking." Tori breaks the subject. For some reason, I'm finding it insanely hard to keep my eyes on her. I glance around the room, trying to keep from catching her eyes.

"yeah..me and Shane busted it out after work."

"Looks...great." Tori still sounds guilty.

"Well, I hope you like it. I tried to decorate it the way you would, but I probably did a bad job. It's ok...we can fix it."

"Dustin, didn't you just hear what I said?" Tori takes a couple of steps towards me until she's directly in front of me. She tilts her head to catch my wandering eyes, and I can't help but look right back at her. "It looks great. Thanks so much."

"Don't mention it. Shane helped. And it was no big deal anyway. I live here too, so, ya know.." I wish I could speak and act normal in front of her, but I can barely breathe. An awkward silence fills the room again, and oh man, it feels like forever and a week. Then Tori finally speaks...

"You know... Dustin...I'm really, really sorry for the way Blake acted today. I –"

"Why should you be sorry? Tori, don't apologize for him!" Without thinking, I blurt out. Raising my voice, but so not meaning to.

Tori's eyes widen, "Let me finish, please." Tori's hand chases my face, trying to get me to look her way. She sighs, "Would ya look at me?"

Uneasily, I find her eyes and we lock stares. I could kiss her right now and everything would be alright.

"Sorry...go on." I say in a whispered breath.

"I completely flipped out on him! It was totally unnecessary for any of that today!" Tori's brow crinkled. She has her 'mean face' on.

"You flipped?"

"Yes!! No one talks to you that way but me!!!" Tori laughs. "But seriously, Dustin, he said he is so sorry. He feels horrible. He doesn't know what got into him. He was having a bad day." Tori totally sticks up for him. Whatever.... I wonder if she noticed the immediate stank look on my face.

"Well, you know what," I say, crossing my arms in front of me, "He can come to me and say that himself."

"You're being unfair." Tori shakes her head.

What? Me, unfair??? Are you for real?? Stank turned to utter disgust...

"What? Dude, Blake totally chumped me in front of everyone!! He disrespected me so lovely, and **I'm** being unfair??? Oh, please Tori, excuse me for being a slight bit bitter..."

"Ok, ok , you're absolutely right for feeling angry, but you guys are friends and you can't let this stupid thing come between that."

"Did I start this? Hell no! I didn't say one remotely rude thing to him at all and he bugged out. Not my problem, Tor. So, why don't you go talk to your boy about it, not me!" I walk towards the couch, so heated right now.

"My boy???" Tori follows me, "My boy??? What the hell is that supposed to mean???" Tori hovers over me angrily as I sit on the couch.

"Ok...you know what...." I rethink and realize everything that I'm about to say. And I don't want to argue. Not with her. Not about this.

"What, Dustin? What?" Tori's arms flail.

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, "You're right." I say, standing up to face her,"This is stupid. I guess I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"Really?" Tori sighs with a slight smile. Deep down inside, I have to swallow everything. Swallow my pride. Swallow my feelings. As usual...

"Yes.. I accept Blake's apology. I'm sure he really never meant for all of that to happen the way it did. It's cool." UUUUGGGHHHH!!!! I wanna slam my head through a wall! My cheesy smile sugar coats my ailing. I am such a loser...

"Oh Dustin!" Tori jumps at me, locking her arms around my waist, "I'm so proud of you! You're really maturing!"

My instinct is to hold her in my arms and never let go. God I never want to let go. My heart Is racing, my mouth feels like a dessert. I catch a whiff of her hair and I swear I've never wanted anyone more in my life. She smells so amazing. We are still in each others arms, and I can't bring myself to let her go. Not yet. She doesn't seem to mind. At least I can only hope so. She wiggles a little. I ease my grip and look down at her. She's grinning at me with warm eyes. Oh man, if I could wish for anything right now it would be for her to say those three words and mean it the way I want her to mean it. The way I mean it.

"Awe.....you poor thing!!!" Tori says,"You must be starved! Your stomach just growled at me!"

And all thoughts of this ever being a 'moment' are instantly crushed. Oh boy, this is gonna be tough... "Yeah.. I really am. I haven't really eaten anything today at all. But I did drink a shit-load of Gatorade." I squint , trying to remember what I ingested for the day. Not eating is way weird for me. I'm a human garbage disposal!

"Wow!" Tori touches my forehead, playfully, "You feelin' ok?" She laughs.

"Ha! I know right!" I join her. Dammit! So I really can't be mad at her. I'm such a sucker.

"Lets go food shopping!!!" Tori's face lights up as she jumps up and down, "Ooohhh! Yes! Our first food shopping on our own! C'mon, D!!! Please! Please!! We need food in this place!! Please!!!"

Tori knows how tired I am right now. She's jumping up and down, still begging me. I wonder if she also knows that I can't say no to her at all..As hard as I try...

"Don't you think it's a little late to go food shopping?" I say, looking at my cell phone.

"C'mon Dustin, please!! With sugar on top and..." Tori thinks, "Motocross bikes!!!!!"

"Well since you put it that way.." I wrap an arm around her shoulders and we walk out of the door, shutting the light on our way.

"Alright! So much fun!" Tori squeals. Her voice rings throughout the long hallway to our apartment building.


	9. Hold on tight shut your eyes

"Alright, so I'll try not to bust my ass this time!" I yell out to Kelly while putting my helmet on.

"Dustin, don't worry! It takes practice! C'mon, show me what you got!" Kelly claps her hands together.

Freestyle can be brutal. I mean it all depends on timing, speed and not misjudging the ramp. Basically, not misjudging any of it. There's a science to it. And science wasn't a strong point for me in school. Oh..and having a fear of falling flat on my face doesn't help either.

I quickly get into position. My bike and I, lined up with the ramp, far back enough to get good air.

Breath...

Inhale...

Exhale...

Inhale...

Exhale...

Here goes nothing... and I'm off in a split second, gaining speed...faster...and faster...here we go....

I hit the ramp with perfect speed and catch one of the greatest jumps I've ever attempted! So far at least... I hold on tight, gripping the handle bars for dear life, 'cuz if I slip, I'm done for...Then I separate my entire body from my bike into a sweet trick...Perfect! So far...back into position, hurry, I'm heading down fast. My heart is in my throat. I love the feeling. Adrenaline, fear. The same as being a Power Ranger.. Kinda like how I feel with Tori...

Land...

Steady...

Land....

C'mon, man....

Nail it....

My bike hits the ground and spins out hard from under me, so fast, I don't even realize..nor have enough time to catch it. My body, like a ragdoll, gets tossed and bounces off the ground...once..twice...aaahhhhh three times...faceplant....bad....

A wipeout happens so fast, theres no time to react. Just get smashed up, and if you don't die right away, deal with the pain the second you come to...

"Fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The first word that I find, I scream out loud enough for everyone at the track to hear. By this time, out of the corner of my eye, I see Kelly already running towards me. Two other figures running behind her. The wind knocked out of me, I can't move. I lay, face down. My helmet still on. I hit the ground so hard, my heart felt like it could've exploded in my chest. Thank God for helmets and chest protectors...

"Dustin!!! Dustin!!" Kelly's voice comes into focus. 2.3 seconds later, I feel her hands touch my back. "Oh no!!! Are you ok?? Talk to me please!!"

I raise my arm , as best as I could, to let her know I'm alive..

"Dude, you ok man?? That was brutal!!" This voice, I know this voice....

I feel hands on me and suddenly I'm on my back. Kelly helps to take my helmet off.

"Hunter?" I say, looking up to see my crimson friend looming over me with concern in his blue eyes. I rub my eyes into better focus and try to make out the other person with he and Kelly..

"Vanessa?" I say, still trying to catch my breath.

"You okay, Dustin?" Vanessa rubs my gloved hand.

"Huh?? You two know each other?" Defensively, Hunter asks. Looking back and forth at me and Vanessa.

"We've definitely met." Vanessa says smiling at me. But honestly, at this point I can care less...

"Huh?" Hunter looks confused as all hell. Maybe even a little jealous, for whatever reason.

"Dude, I'm dying here!" I say, brushing off any conversation other than, ' Hey D..let me help you.' 3 sets of hands grab for me and gently help me sit up. My head is pounding...

"Dammit! Fucking shit, man!! I just can't land it! Why?? This is so pissing me off!!" I vent to my 3 friends, circled around me.

"It's ok.. maybe you should take a break for a couple of days. Clear your head.." Kelly says.

"My head is fine.. I just can't land it!"

"You have things on your mind. Your not clear." Kelly speaks the truth . "Sort things out up here first." She gently pokes my head, "Then try again."

"She's right dude." Hunter extends his hand and I grab for it. He helps me to my feet.

"Thanks.." I say, feeling the way I look – completely covered in dirt.

"C'mon! Lets get you functioning again!" Hunter pats me on the back.

What if I don't wanna function at all? Ever again? Well at least Hunter is here. I missed him, dude.. And at least he's not being a complete dickhole.

The four of us walk over to my bike, the rear tire still spinning.

"Woah, dude." Hunter scratches his head.

"Nasty!" I am so pissed right now!

"Looks like you'll be working on your own bike at work." Kelly says, shaking her head.

I pout and bend my sore, aching body over to pick up my pride and joy. "Ouch!" I let out a little moan. This truly, honestly does suck. As if one wouldn't have already noticed.

"We got it, don't worry 'bout it!" Hunter grabs my bike.

I catch Vanessa smirking at me as I stretch my body, my face distorting in pain. I so don't feel like smiling back..sorry..

Hunter wheels my bike into the Storm Chargers van. Kelly jumps in the drivers seat and we all pile in.

"Dude, I'm sprawling out in the back...You guys take the front." I say, limply throwing my lifeless carcass onto the floor board next to my bike. Hunter, Vanessa and Kelly take up the front seats, while I might as well drop dead completely in the back. The love between a guy and his bike... If this shit falls on me, I swear... I am so done for...

My thoughts wander back to Tori as I toss and turn in the back. Maybe she'll be sympathetic..maybe she'll give me a full body massage.. yeah...

"Dude, you ok back there?" Hunter twists his neck to check on me, totally breaking my daydream of Tori's hands all over me. Thanks man..

"I'm good...I'm good..Trustme..i'll be riding again first thing tomorrow, bro!" I say in mumbles holding my hands over my face. The bumpy ride back to Storm Chargers is so not easing the pain....

"You better be! You owe me some laps, boy!" Hunter taunts. Vanessa lets out a giggle.

"Nope!" Kelly interrupts, "No way...you take a rest, Dustin.. I'm telling you!"

"Awe, Kel, Please!" Hunter pleads like a little school boy.

I can't help but cackle under my breath...Ugh! These bumps are killer!!

"Not until he clears that head of his...Or he's gonna wipe out for sure!" Kelly worries way too much about me.. I kinda wonder if maybe she might be into me sometimes... Nah!! What am I thinking??

We pull into the parking area at Storm Chargers and I grogilly roll out of the back almost falling on my head on the concrete.

"Wow, I'm a complete mess today, huh?" I say, grabbing my helmet.

"I'll get the bike inside" Hunter says, sternly.

"Ok..Imma run home and shower.." I point behind me to my car.

"Take the day off" Kelly says, "Relax"

"You sure?" I look at her scrunching up my face.

"Yep, Shops' not busy, I can handle it. You deserve a rest. You kill yourself." Kelly says. I have to agree. I need a vacation!

"Thanks, Kel. You are the best." I say.

"Don't mention it.. just get better." She says, walking into Storm Chargers, following Hunter, leaving me and Vanessa ,alone, near the cars.

"You look good out there." Vanessa says, walking closer to me.

"No..I really don't." Annoyed, I'm just not in the mood.

"Yeah. You do." She smiles. She's got this seducing look in her eyes and she's checking me up and down. What's going on here?

"Um..yeah.. I gotta go..." I say, starting to walk away, backwards. I'm so trying not to be all rude about it, but I really gotta get outta this gear.

"Want company?" She asks, batting her eyes and pouting her lips. Um..i'm creeped out right now....is that wrong?

"Um..that's ok..i don't really think I need any help taking a shower." I laugh.

"You sure?" Vanessa is serious? Uh..am I sure? Wow...

So wanting to say,'Hey, sure! C'mon over!' ...But, no...she was with Hunter first off, and....just no...I'm not like that..oh man....damn myself sometimes for having a conscience ! I swallow hard, hesitating to speak. I finally find the words...

"Maybe some other time." I smile.

"You better promise me that.." Vanessa flirts without shame. That look in her eyes...oh man... I start to walk way.. I better before I change my mind. Hey, I am still a guy, ya know...

"Maybe..." I say waving her off as I open my car door and climb in. I smile to myself and shove the key into the ignition, turning it. The engine rumbles.

Ok...so now, I'm the loser, ninja, motocross dude, who not only is a love sick emo goof, but also just turned down sex. Wow..maybe I am gay.. Thanks, Tor...


	10. I'm content with losing

Hello again..and here it is..the next chapter...

Dyrne-Faemne : Hehehe.. thanks so much for reading my story! You rock! Well, lets just say it is so not evil Blake... omg! Did you see the ninja storm/dino thunder crossover????

Well...here goes nothing....please r&r and tell me if ya like it or hate it..

cyn

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Uuugghhh...ok...now...where is he? He just called me and said he'd be here..maybe I'm just early..who knows. The wind against my clean skin feels sssoooo good right now. Soothing the big bruise on my side. Ahhh..my baggy clothes dance around me, blowing in the wind..The waves are sick today..Tori is gonna flip when I tell her how beautiful the beach is looking....Tori.....

"Looking for me?" A hand smacks me back to reality. Right on my back.

"Awe!! Sore!!" I yell out in pain.

"Oh, dude, sorry... I forgot." Hunter apologizes. In his hand, he holds a large brown McDonalds bag.

"Hey, dude," I point, giggling at the golden arch goodness, "You sharin'?"

"Oh, you know it!" Hunter holds the bag up and the smell of Mickey D's attacks my senses. I just got real hungry all of a sudden...Lately I've been forgetting to eat...

"Hey, I picked us up some dollar menu grub!" Hunter grins. That sideways, silly grin.

"Alright!" I say, exchanging a high-five with the guy in the crimson long-sleeve and blue jeans.

"It's kinda windy...my fries are gonna blow all over the place. I can't have that be the case." Hunter squints from the wind.

"I hear ya. Lets go back to my apartment." I realize he hasn't seen our new place yet.

"Oh, cool! I haven't seen it!" Hunter says. We walk to my car, parked along the beach and head to my place.

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"This is hardcore, bro!" Hunter says, shoving fries in his mouth.

"yeah, it's cool, finally leaving the folks' home....sense of independence"

"I hear that. That's what college is like dude...no worries...well you know, other than grades. But me and Blake study our asses off up there! This is a well deserved mini vacation!" Hunter speaks with his mouth full.

"Um...speaking of Blake...what's up with him?" I dip some fries into a pool of ketchup, and devour them like I never ate before in my life...

"Yeah, I heard..He's going through some issues,,you know..the whole Tori situation.."

"Tori? Um..what's the situation?" Hearing Tori's name, I almost drop my cheeseburger. Please don't tell me that they are dating now exclusively...

Hunter gives me a 'Duh' look,"C'mon, Dustin! As if the world hasn't noticed my brother is madly in love with her!"

Uuuggghhhh!!! It's like no one cares that I'm dying here!! I'm in love with her too!! It's murdering me...

"It's like, bro, if you want her so much, then go for it! I don't know what his problem is.. I mean it's totally obvious she likes him, too." Hunter bites into his burger, unaware that I want to choke him right now for saying that. What do I say? What can I say?

"But I still don't get why he like, all of a sudden hates me." I say, sipping my orange soda.

"He doesn't hate you. He just has issues." Hunter repeats himself as if he knows exactly why, but was sworn to cover it up. Understandable...but I don't get it, why only issues with me? "Trust me, he wants to talk to you, anyway. He's sorry." I am amazed at how Hunter can speak, breath, chew and swallow all at the same time. And speak so clearly too!!

"Well, that's good to know then." I bite into my cheeseburger. Ahh..fake beef! Nothing greater than unhealthy fast food. For a minute the room fills with nothing but the sounds of chewing and wrappers crumbling.

"So, how did you guys get down here?" I ask.

"Me and Blake went half on a used car. We take turns with it...as you can see, he has it now."

"Oh, what kind of car?" I wash my food down with more soda.

"A dodge neon...but whatever, it drives right?" Hunter jokes.

"No doubt, no doubt." I smile.

Should I ask him about Vanessa? Maybe I should tell him how she totally tried to get in my pants today...

"So, bro...how do you know Vanessa?" Wow...no way! Did Hunter just read my mind?? Sick!

"She's Tori's friend. I met her once. She's cool." I nod...not sure why I'm nodding...

"Yeah, she is." Hunter agrees.

"So...are you two like...an item?" Grinning, I ask the burning question. Well maybe not burning but...somewhere along the lines. Hunter almost chokes on his drink...

"Item? No way!! I just met her yesterday.. we were talking over the internet."

"Wait, so that's who you went to go meet yesterday?" I jump and point, getting excited that I figured something out all by myself.. I love when I do that!

"Bingo." Hunter places his drink on the little coffee table in the middle of the living room, along with the paper remains of what used to be food.

"So..." Still curious, I dig deeper for some dirt," There's nothing going on between you two?"

"Well, she's cool and everything but.....she's kind of a skank." Hunter speaks nonchalantly.

"What?"

"Yeah.. I met her, banged her.. that's basically our relationship." Hunter says, like its nothing. No big deal.

"Woah.." I say, shocked.

"yeah." Hunter says, "And the thing is she admits that she has a sex addiction. She wants it all the time from whoever she gets her hands on..she can't help it. She wants you too, bro. She's like way into you..That's what she told me before I left the shop."

"yeah? Well, I sorta figured that from earlier." I say, a slight hint of red filling my cheeks.

"Go for it! I don't care! It's all good." Hunter encourages.

That's way too weird...

"Nah, it's ok."

"C'mon, live a little! Have some wild fun, now, before some girl really gets to you...then it's over!"

Too bad...that's already the case....


	11. take your hatred out on me

"Hey, Dustin" A voice creeps up behind me, "Can I talk to you?"

I turn around to see Blake standing there. Oh great... I hope this ends good.

"Sure, man...give me a sec." I take the oil splattered towel from around my neck and attempt at cleaning up as best as I can. I throw down the towel and leave my tools to follow Blake outside.

Blake pulls out a pack of Newports from his back pocket and lights one. "You want?" He asks.

"No thanks...Since when did you start smoking?" I cringe.

Puffing a cloud of smoke from his mouth, "A bad habit I picked up at school." Blake answers. "Hey, look, I'm sorry for going nuts on you the other day." Blake puffs his cigarette, staring out into the brigade of cars parked in the Storm Chargers lot. I uneasily rock back and forth, sticking my hands in my pockets.

"It's no problem." I say, not really wanting to deal with any drama. Feeling some angst towards Blake for trying to take the girl I never had away from me.

"You know, Dustin.." Blake starts, "It's just way too crazy, you know...The whole you and Tori moving in together thing."

"Crazy? How is that crazy?" I ask, defensively.

"I mean, we're getting older now and things change...You guys aren't kids anymore...You're not playing house....It's the real deal and it doesn't sit well with me at all to tell you the truth."

What? Who the hell does he think he is? I'm totally insulted and really heated..

"Obviously, I think I got the memo that this isn't a game bro. And why doesn't it sit well with you? I don't get that part!" My agrivation reads clearly in my tone.

"You don't get much though, do you Dustin.." Blake looks at me flicking his cigarette onto the ground. His piercing gaze, almost painful. I clench my fists at my sides.

"What's all that dude? Saying you're sorry and then doing the same shit all over again is not what I call a sincere apology." I scold, sarcastically.

"Well, the bottom line is, I'm telling you that I don't like the fact that you're living with my girl! It doesn't look right and it sure as hell don't feel right at all!"

**His** girl??? What??

"Tori is not your girl!" I bark, glaring at Blake, squeezing my fists. I'm waiting for him to make a move, waiting to snap his neck.

Blake moves directly in front of me and points a finger in my face.

"What did you say?" Blakes eyes are black and cold.. I've never seen him act this way...But understanding and reason is far from where I'm standing.

"Blake..I'm only gonna tell you once.." I threaten, staring him down, "You better get that finger out of my face!"

"Or what?" Blake intstigates.

Without thinking, I pull my fist back aiming directly for Blake's jaw. He ducks, seeing it coming. Just then, Shane jumps in between us and holds me back.

"Woah..woah!!!" He says, holding his hand out to Blake, his back to me. Seeing the commotion, Kelly appears in front of us.

"What is going on here?!" Kelly cries out, "Dustin, get inside!!!"

Shane, single handedly, struggles to hold me and Blake away from each other.

"No, fuck this,dude!!" I yell, lunging at Blake..Shane holds me tightly, while pushing Blake back.

"Dustin Brooks!!! Get inside now, or you're fired!!" Kelly yells.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!! Just stop!" Shane scolds us both, trying to hold us back.

"Dustin, now!" Kelly bravely grabs me and pulls me away, pushing me inside the store. She turns around and points at Blake,"Blake, don't bring this around my store!! This is a place of business!" She says, hurrying into the store to calm me down.

I hear Blake scream out, "I know you're sweet on her, D!!! You can't hide it! You touch her and I will kill you!"

By then, the people crowded around Storm Chargers to see the 'fight' had begun to walk away.

"Come with me!!" Kelly drags me to the sitting area and plops me down on the couch. "Now, tell me right now, what on earth was that?? And this better be good!" Kelly stands hovering over me. She's way pissed.

Every cell in my body is enraged and ready to go bust his face in! God, I never thought I'd wish an alien would attack!!

"Blake is crazy!! He's gone insane!! Ooohhh!! I swear!!" I stand up, this rush of adrenaline taking over. Kelly pushes me back down.

"You – relax!" She says, "I'll be right back."

I'm breathing in deep breaths, trying to shake this. I have so munch pent up anger. It's been so long since I fought anything, anyone...The way I've been feeling, the thought of brutally beating the living pulp out of anything – living or not – is seemingly appealing..

Kelly walks back over to sit down next to me. "Shane took Blake to calm him down... I don't get this whole thing, Dustin. You and Blake just stopped getting along? How can best friends hate each other overnight?"

"Hey, like Blake said, things change." I say with a deep breath, anxiously twitching my leg.

Kelly sighs, "You guys need to just stay away from each other then..Or you're gonna kill one another."

"He started this whole beef for stupid ass reasons, let him deal with it!!" I wave my hands as if to brush him off, "All I know is, if he comes in my face again, I'm snuffing him! The end."

Kelly sucks her teeth," Well, if you wanna solve this problem with violence , go right ahead! But don't do it around me or my store, got that?" Anger rings throughout her voice. I hate the fact that she's angry at me....

I look down , in shame, at the floor as Kelly walks away. I think about whats been going on the past week of my life and, In such a short period of time, things have managed to go wrong on so many levels. I've managed to begin a downward spiral that I, at this point, don't know how to get out of...


	12. She says she's sorry

Disclaimer: Hey, so I still don't own them....ok....

Thanks so much for the reviews..thanks for reading my story and giving it a chance..you rock! Heres the next chapter..since I'm not a guy...I had to do a bit of research for this one..you'll understand what I mean.......

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It's been two weeks since moving day and I still haven't yet fully unpacked. A couple of boxes sit, unopened, on my bedroom floor. I don't want to do anything...I'm too tired.... I'm too wrecked.

Hunter and Blake are back at school. Thank God..Me and Blake haven't spoke or seen each other at all since our little confrontation outside of Storm Chargers.

I talk to Hunter on a regular basis, and it's a good thing he's not letting whatever's going on with me and his brother come between our friendship.

Shane has been crashing with me and Tori until he can find his own place. I think he might as well just stay with us because he'll be on the road with his skateboard demos for most of the time anyway. An apartment would be a waste.

Kelly was awesome enough to give me a sweet raise. Which helps a bunch with rent, bills and car insurance. Man, not to mention the price of gas, now! It's robbery, dude!

In the past two weeks, I haven't really gotten much sleep at all. Furnishing the apartment has been brutal. Not to mention work....Hitting the track. And man, I've been taking a beating on the freestyle ramp! I don't know whats gotten into my performance...dude, I cant land my jumps!! But maybe Kelly is right. Maybe I should take time off. Maybe I just need sleep. But, in my case, sleep is not an option...neither is time off...I have rent and bills to pay now. I never thought being an adult could be harder than being a hero. A power ranger. Dude, I don't know, but, I'd love to sit on my ass and relax..All this work is starting to catch up with me...

Tori, Shane and I chilled out with sensei the other day and, for once, it actually felt like a ninja's day off! Sensei really misses Cam, but he'll be home real soon. Despite the fact that we don't get to see sensei too much, he's way proud of us. And our busy schedules. We are to start special training again in the near future...well..as soon as I get some sleep...nah, but I really do miss it. The academy, Sensei...most of all the powers. Oh man, just to morph again..

As much time as me and Tori spend together, we might as well just be an item already! I mean, we've gotten even closer since we moved in together. I don't know..it's like, we're just so comfortable with each other and we enjoy each other's company...like, even more.

Shane said, I need to just tell her already. But I'm so afraid that her possible interest in me is all in my head. Just my hopes and wants blind folding reality. I mean, we're always hugging and laughing and I swear I feel her eyes saying more. She even fell asleep with me in my bed last night. Oh, dude, it was really hard for me to contain myself..and fall asleep... I just watched her and listened to her breath..Oh, man I sound like a stalking perv! But, dude.... I just don't know.. I mean, best friends hug and laugh a lot too.. I know, I'm just reading between lines that don't even exist..

As soon as I start to believe that maybe this can someday be – Blake calls and it's all over. He calls her and she gets excited. She runs into her room and closes the door to talk to him.

Like I'm dumb or something! Like I don't know who she's on the phone with..c'mon now! She said she hates what Blake is doing to me and he's wrong and it's ridiculous, but she still talks to him..what the hell? Through all of this confusion, heartache and stomach butterflies, it's all worth coming home from work to see Tori curled up on the couch in her pajamas, munchin' out and laughing at something on T.V......

"Hey, you're home early!" Tori looks over at me, laughing so hard she's in tears, "Oh, man this is great!"

I stand between her and the T.V. trying to see what's so funny.

"Move it!" She jumps up and pushes me out of her way, "You're not made of glass, ya know!"

"Sorry!" I say just happy that she touched me. Still standing, now on the side of the TV, Tori pats the soft cushion of the couch, "Sit, silly." She says.

I plop down close to her, still confused , why she's laughing so hard.

"What is this?" I say pointing at the rubbish in front of me.

"What? Are you serious?" Tori looks at me, disgusted.

"Quite." I don't get it...What's the big deal?

"It's 'Angel'!!! You know, Buffy and Angel? Like, duh!!!" Tori really lost me...Well, whatever 'Angel' is, it's pretty lame.

"Yeah..well..whatever this stuff is... it's uh...kinda lame-o." Bravely, I say out loud.

"You did not just go there!" Tori almost instantaneously smacks me with a throw pillow, giggling.

I grab her and proceed to tickle her rib cage and her stomach.

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!! Noooooooo!" Tori's wailing mixture of wrath and happiness, only makes me attack her more.

She's wiggling in my grasp, and my hands find their way under her shirt, tickling her bare flesh. Her eyes widen and she lets out a slight squeal as she notices my hands touch her skin.

"That tickles! Oh man, you're gonna get it, Earth brat!!!" She growls.

"Really, now?" I laugh, holding her squirming body in my arms. Tori reaches for the pillow she had thrown at me, and started hitting me with it. Laughing hysterically, I lose my grip and she breaks free jumping up in front of me. She motions for me to get up and fight her.

"C'mon!!" Her face, red. She's breathing heavy from laughing and her hair is tossled. She's smiling uncontrollably, "Scaredy cat!! C'mon!" She taunts, looking absolutely beautiful.

"We're gonna break the table!" I laugh, still sitting on the couch.

"Fine then!" Tori starts to drag our coffee table from the middle of the living room, to the front of the door.

"Are you serious?" I scratch my head, laughing. She really wants to fight? Ha!

"C'mon! No excuses now, pretty boy!" Tori mocks.

My mouth drops to a look of shock...She did not just go there..." Oh, you're gonna get it, bad!"

I jump up from the couch as Tori giggles. I poke her in the stomach lightly to tickle her some more.

"Aaahhhaaaahhhhhaaaa!!" Tori squeals. She leaps at me and I run. Tori starts chasing me around the apartment. Laughter and loud screams travel through every room. Suddenly, Tori jumps on my back as we re-enter the living room, catching me by surprise, I lose balance and stumble to the floor, Tori still on top of me. My knees Sting from falling on them. Dammit! That hurt!

Now, on the floor, our wrestling match continues. Tori, tickling me now, moved off of my back. She pushed me down on my back and jumped on my stomach..Ouch!

"Oh, man!" I scream between the laughter that's starting to make my tummy hurt, "Tori!! I'm so gonna make you pay for this!!"

"Oh, yeah? Ha!" Tori moves her body down to sit on my legs. I wiggle, not to get away, just a reaction to the tickles. She can stay on top of me all she wants...

She pulls up my shirt and places her soft lips to my stomach. Her lips, glued to my bare flesh, She blows, making a loud fart noise.

"Oh my God!! That tickles!!" I wail. And it really does tickle.. But I really do want to tell her how her lips touching my skin sent shooting trembles throughout my entire body.

Tori looks up at me, laughing so hard her whole face was flushed a bright red. Her face read, 'Ha! I win!' and she seems proud of tackling me to the floor.

"Nice!" I humor her. I feel so content. I love her so much. I feel tears begin to gather behind my eyes. No...She can't see me cry. She can't know..Dammit.. I am such a cake...But she's so amazing....dude..

Just then, I feel the worst pain I've probably ever felt. Sharp, brutal pain from my crotch, shoots to my stomach. I can't breathe, it hurts so much... I try to scream, but instead let out a whimper. I can't find my voice.

"Oh, my God! Oh no! Dustin, I am so sorry!! Oh no! Oh..." Tori, guilt in her voice, tries to console me.

As soon as I felt the near fatal blow, my body instinctively turned over and curled up into a ball. I squirm around the floor like a little baby. The pain...Oh God!! Shoot me!! It's unbearable...

"Dustin...." Tori's voice goes in and out, as all I can do is focus on how much my nutts hurt.

As Tori attempted to climb off of me, she had accidentally kneed me right in the nutts.

I let out a moan, still squirming, holding myself, my face buried into the carpet. Tori is rubbing my back...

"Oh, Dustin..Oh no..I'm so, so sorry..." She sounds like she's about to cry. But I beat her to it. There...now I have more of a reason to release those held back tears.

I find my voice somewhere in my aching gut," It's ok...It's ok.." I say in a whispered moan.

"Um..here...I'll rub it.." Without thinking, Tori cupped at my manhood. Oh my God......

Now realizing what she was doing, she pulls her hand away, "Oh! Oh! I'm so...Oh, man..Oh..wow...Uuuggghhhh, I'm so fucking stupid!!" Embarrassed, sympathetic and way guilty, Tori gets up to walk away.

"Wait! Wait!" I yell out to her, finding the strength to lift my head and look at her, showing her I was ok...well...ok enough not to die, anyway..."Don't go...please.." I say, tears down my flushed face.

"Oh, Dustin... you're crying!" Tori quickly runs over to me falling to her knees to comfort me. The pain was slowly starting to subside, as Tori helped me attempt to sit up.

"Well... I didn't think the tears could be avoided, in this case.." I try to make a joke, but Tori's face is in a permanent state of disruption and guilt. I sit up slightly, leaning against her, as she runs her fingers through my hair.

"I am so sorry... I feel so horrible..oh, Dustin...I am so so sorry!"

"It's ok.. it was an accident..just promise me next accident you'll aim somewhere else, ok?" I joke.

Tori sighs, wrapping her arms around me, "Oh, Dustin! I'm sorry!"

Aside from the pain, being in Tori's arms, feeling her fingers on my scalp – Oh man..... I'm in heaven..wait a minute....did Tori grab my crotch?? OH!! Oh, dude! Tori grabbed my crotch!

The door knob turned and the door suddenly flung open, hitting the coffee table that Tori had pushed in front of it. Me and Tori look over to see Shane's head poking in from behind the door...

"What's going on in here?" Shane asks, crazy thoughts running through his mind – I can tell.

"Hold on a sec, Shane." Tori says, as we both stand up. My stomach is still twisting into knots and my man area feels a little swelled, but I somehow manage to get to my feet with a little help from the girl I love.

"I got it, just relax, ok.." Tori says, pushing me onto the couch. Ouch!!! Dude...she's dangerous! She runs over to pull the coffee table from the door, allowing Shane to come inside.

"What was all that about? Nope, forget it...you know what? I don't even wanna know!" Shane throws his hands over his ears, grinning at me. I shake my head at him. He and Tori both place the table where it belongs and sit on the couch next to me.

"So, what did you mean by that whole, 'Oh, what are you guys doing', comment?" Tori asks.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Shane asks, playing dumb.

"Shane! Seriously! You thought me and Dustin were-" Tori pauses. She couldn't find the words to finish her thought but Shane and I knew exactly how to fill in the blank.

"No! Of course not!" Shane laughs, lying his ass off.

"Whatever!" Tori blushes, fixing her hair, "You ok, Dustin? You're awfully quiet."

Laughing, I look at her, "I just got kneed in the nutts, Tori."

"Oooooooohhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Shane held his crotch and winced, feeling my pain.

"Sorry.." That look on Tori's face returns. Awe, man... I don't want her to feel bad...it was a mistake.

I wrap my arm around her and kiss her on her forehead. She looks up at me with innocent, caring eyes and I feel my insides melting. We look at each other, nervously. Or at least, I'm nervous.

"A-hem!" Shane clears his throat.

"Soo....." Tori says, breaking our stare and pulling away from me "What's on the tube?" She reaches for the remote.

Shane glances at me and winks. I sigh and I swear I feel so stupid right now. I'm even more confused than before. Me and Tori's relationship feels different. It really does...but I still think it's too good to be true. I think what I'm feeling is just my feelings for her growing even stronger. But, the past two weeks... I don't know.. I just don't know...


	13. Would I be out of line

"Actually... everyone's asleep." I say into my cell phone.

"So why are you still up?" Her voice echoes from the other line.

"I don't know..lately sleep just hasn't been on my 'To Do List'... I just been having trouble.. it sucks." I'm in my bed, with nothing on but the light of my cell phone reflecting off of the walls. I look at my clock radio. Dammit! It's already 2 in the morning. I have to be at work tomorrow at 12, so at least that's not too bad.

"Why don't you come over?" She asks for the third time since she called me at 1:45. Vanessa. I don't know...she is a nice girl..way cute...but, from what Hunter was saying...

"See I'm trying to sleep. Not looking for something to do other than sleep." I say, listening to Shane snore. Man, he is crazy loud sometimes! Dude...

"I can help you sleep.." Vanessa giggles.

"I'm way too comfortable in my own bed right now, Nessa." I'm making so many excuses right now.

"Then I'll come over."

"No!" I bark "Um.. I mean, I don't want to wake Shane and Tori, you know."

"You're afraid of girls, aren't you, Dustin?" Vanessa asks.

"What? Nah..no way." I lie. I mean, I'm not afraid of girls themselves....just all the crap that comes along with being with one.

"I think you are. Or you're just really insecure." Vanessa could be right. She most likely is. Sometimes I just don't even know anymore.

"I've been hurt..really bad.. I just don't trust.." I say.

"Awe..what happened?" Vanessa's voice is similar to that of a bad acting porn star.

"Don't wanna talk about it." I say, not really up to telling the story. "Hey, I'm gonna really try to get to sleep now, ok? I'll talk to you tomorrow." I cut our conversation short due to the direction it was going...not good...

"Awe..well..ok cutie...goodnight." Nessa says.

"Sweet dreams."

-click-

Sighing, I put my cell phone to charge next to my clock radio and pull the sheets over me as I get comfy. Just as I close my eyes, I swear I hear footsteps in the living room, over Shane's snoring, stopping in front of my door. The door knob turns and a figure slides into my room, closing the door slowly, not to make noise.

"Tori?" I say, hitting my touch lamp once, just enough dimmed light to see her.

"Hey." She says, sitting next to me on my bed. I sit up, my heart pounding like it always does when I see her.

"Hey...Tori...are you ok?" I hope she's ok..it's real late.

"I heard you talking and I just wanted to make sure you were ok." She says. Her voice so breathy and soft. The light in my room is just enough so I can see her perfectly. The balance of the light and shadow hitting her curves just right. Her eyes are glassy.. God, she's gorgeous..

"I'm fine," I smile , "just can't sleep..as usual."

"Awe... I figured that." Tori brushes her hair behind her ears.

"You been awake this whole time?" I ask, concerned.

"On and off... I got a lot on my mind." Tori seems troubled. Something is bothering her. Almost kinda like when we had that whole 'gay' conversation in front of her old house..This could be interesting..

"Wanna talk about it?" I ask, wishing she would just spill her love for me.

"Nah.. I wouldn't know where to start. And it's something I have to figure out on my own anyway."

"You sure?" I ask.

"Positive. But thanks." She smiles at me. We lock eyes again. The same as in the living room. The same as three days ago. Her eyes are trying to tell me something. And maybe I'm just dumb, but I wish I knew what it was.

"You know, Dustin.." Tori lets out a slight giggle, her head down, "I'm really, really sorry for grabbing your...um...yeah."

"Oh..um..." What do I say to that? I mean I'm not sorry she did. I kinda wish it lasted longer..

"Yeah.. I'm really sorry.. I just kinda panicked.." She says, avoiding direct eye contact.

"It's ok, Tor.. it's fine.. you made it feel better, I swear." What a doofus! Don't say that! Awe...dude....

Tori giggles and smacks my leg, "You're crazy!" She says.

"Yeah, I guess." I feel embarrassed now...way embarrassed.

We sit in silence..and with Tori, it's never felt this awkward. We sit nodding at each other. What should I say? What's on her mind? I wish I knew... Oh, man..just to kiss her right now would be perfect. If Shane woke up and walked in he'd be buggin' out. What to do..what to do...

"Tori.." I blurt.. it just came out..and I don't know what to say now..

"Yeah, Dustin?" She glances at me. I'm thinking hard on what I should say. I can't tell her anything. As much as I want to and wish I could.. I just can't.

"Shane is so loud right now!" I break the ice.

Tori sighs, "Yeah..Ha! He is." She looks at the time on my clock radio. "Wow, it's late huh?" She yawns.

"Yeah...you should get some rest," I say , "We both got work tomorrow."

"Ok then..." She smiles "...Scoot over."

"Huh?"

"Yeah.. gimme some room." Tori nudges me. Oh... she wants to sleep next to me again...dude... I'll never get to sleep tonight! But I wouldn't change this for anything...

I move over so that Tori can stretch out right next to me on my bed. Here we are, Me and Tori laying down facing each other. Tori turns over onto her side, her back to me now, and moves in closer. Oh man, she is directly up against me and this can't be good. The more I try not to think about her, the more I can't help it. My manhood starts to rise, slightly poking Tori on her bottom. I want to drop dead right now.. this is so bad..ssooo bad... Maybe she doesn't even notice..or, yeah, right!

"Um...Dustin...is that..um...is that your..." Tori quietly asks, still facing away from me.

"I'm sorry.. I-I'm s-so sorry." I stutter, quickly jumping out of my bed, "Um..I'm sorry Tori I didn't mean for that to happen... it just does it on its own... I.." I panic, trying to explain myself.

"Dustin, I know.. It's not a big deal.."

"It's not?" I ask, half reassured and half kinda insulted. No big deal? Ouch! That's harsh!

"Well.. it's not..um..exactly..a little deal..a-hem...um...but...this situation...isn't really a big..issue..um...I'm not mad..or anything...it's cool...yeah.." Tori stutters and nervously speaks. She slightly smirks. My face is boiling. I know I must be beet red right now.

"Um...ok..really?" I ask..so..that means she's impressed?? Nice!

"Really." Tori smiles, uneasily "Come back and lay down. We gotta get to sleep." She says.

"Oh..right." I slowly climb back into bed with her, making sure to leave plenty of room between us this time.

"Goodnight, Dustin" Tori smiles.

"Goodnight."


	14. A stranger I am just visiting

Thanks so much for the reviews!! I'm so stoked that you really enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it! In the next chapters things are really gonna heat up...hehehe... well..heres the next chapter..i hope you like it..and if you don't for any reason, please let me know...

cyn

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"Wait, so what happened? Shane leaned over the counter, almost hopping right over it.

"Dude...nothing happened, ok..." I say, unloading a box of oil. Finally! Those oil dudes got my order straight!

"So, I come home and you two just happen to be in each others arms in the middle of the floor...Oh, and the table just happened to be totally blocking the door, huh?" Shane inquired.

"Dude!! I got kneed in the nutts, man! That was it! She was just making sure I was ok.." I place each tub of oil onto the counter to check them in.

"Sure....." Shane grins deviously "..Ok, so this morning, Tori walks out of your bedroom...what's up with that??"

I sigh, "Bro, I'm telling you, she had trouble sleeping..that's it.."

"And the night before too, huh?"

"No...she fell asleep in my room with me, watching a movie...that's totally different." I can't help but smile, feeling butterflies in my stomach just thinking about waking up next to her.

"Sure....all I'm saying is, something's up with her man...you guys are different...dude, you need to tell her." Shane nudges me.

"I can't – wait......you really notice a change in her?" I lean over the counter, lowering my voice.

"Towards you? Hell yeah.." Shane reassures.

"Did she say anything?" I ask, my cheeks blushing.

"About you?"

"Yeah.." Do I really wanna know?

"Nah..not to me...but why would she, bro! If she likes you, likes you...she's not gonna tell me..think about it.." Shane looks at the oil tubs, playing with them.

"Yeah, but you're her best friend dude.." I say.

"And I'm your best friend too and you didn't tell me either...And you had no intention on it, until I figured it out on my own." Shane is right.

Wow...maybe Tori does have some kind of feelings for me...but what about Blake? With my luck, he'll just pop up at the most worst time. And ruin everything. And that's even if Shane is right about all of this..but I doubt it...that's not my luck..

"I don't know man... I just.... I don't know.." Just then I feel my pants vibrating. My cell phone. "Oh, my phone is ringing.." I quickly reach into my pocket and press talk. "Hello?" I say, not recognizing the number on the caller ID.

"Dustin, hey..." Tori's voice catches me off guard. She's calling me from her job.

"Tori, hey..what's up?" I say. Hearing who had just called me, Shane leers at me and smiles, nodding and pointing.

"Oh, D, I was thinking about the coolest idea!"

"Yeah? What were you thinking about?" I ask making faces back and forth at Shane. Tori is right, we're so immature sometimes..

"Ya see, me and Marissa, from work, were talking about having a party...And....since me and you live alone, we can so have a party at our place! And since we kinda sorta just moved in...we can like, have a little mini house warming for our friends to see the place....what do ya think?" Tori and her friend from work giggle and impatiently wait for my answer.

"Yo, Shane!! What about throwing a party?" I yell out to my red friend.

"What? Party? Hell yeah!!!! Woooooohhhhhh!!!!!" Shane jumps around like a child.

"Um..yeah...sounds cool." I say into the phone, over Shanes yelling.

Tori and Marissa cheer and giggle. "Ok..here's the deal.." Tori begins, "I invite whoever I want , and you invite whoever you want. But, we can't invite too many people 'cuz that would just be a total disaster!"

"Of course.." I say, shooing Shane away as he blows air kisses into the phone.

"So, I'm guessing we can invite..um...6 people each? Cool?" Tori asks.

"Sweet." I answer, distracted by work and Shanes mocking.

"So.....Start inviting!!! Hehe.." Tori giggles .." Um...lets have it on Friday night, around like...7??"

"All over it." I agree.

"Yes!!! So, I'll see ya tonight, then!" She says.

"See ya."

"Bye!!!"

-click-

"Wooohhoooo!!! Party up in here!" Shane gloats.

"Dude..." I laugh at my friend.." You are insane, bro!"

"Sorry, got a little over excited...so who's invited?"

"Well, you are automatically invited..so I'm guessing uh, 12 people other than me, you and Tor....She's bringin' 6 and I'm bringin' 6....it's on Friday, apparently." I proceed to talk to Shane as I ring up a customer. She's purchasing a multicolored floral bikini and skateboard trucks. Random..but ok...

"Thank you for shopping Storm Chargers, have a safe day.." I say to the short brunette with the killer body. Her hair is long and wavy. Her big brown eyes sparkle complimenting her amazing lips..woah...

"Thank you! Have a great day!" She says, smiling. She turns to walk away and looks back at me. Catching her eyes, I smile...dude..she so just caught me checking her out...

"Dude!!! Invite her! Invite her!!" Shane nudges.

"I don't even know her!" I nudge back.

"Just do it! She's totally into you!" Shane pushes me slightly.

The brunette giggles then proceeds to slowly walk away.

"Ok..Ok..Ok...." Nervous, I follow her, "Um..hey there..wait up." I say. She quickly spins around, smiling at me.

"Hey!" She says holding her Storm Chargers bag close to her , "I didn't steal, I swear!" She laughs. Her voice is soft and innocent. She's way cute..

"Oh..no no, I know.." I nervously scratch my head, glancing over at Shane, "No..but..um..actually, me and my roommate, Tori, are...um...having a get together at our new place and..uh..." I stutter .." I was wondering, if maybe you wanted to come?" I feel like a complete moron as I wait for her answer.

"Really? Yeah...ok...I'd love to." She says, her cheeks turn pink.

"Great! Um.. I didn't get your name.." I say.

"Ivette." She holds out her hand.

"Dustin." I say meeting her for a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Dustin." She smiles.

"Likewise." Wow..She is cute..and sweet...wow. I break out of my trance, "So..um..the party is on Friday..I can pick you up from wherever..if you'd like."

"Ok.. I'd love that." She says "Here..." She pulls out a Sharpie permanent marker from her bag. She grabs my arm and begins to write her phone number in big black ink, across my inner forearm. "This is my cell number." She looks up at me, closing the cap on her marker, "If you don't call me, I know where you work." She warmly grins at me.

"Oh..um.. I'll definitely call you, Ivette. That's no doubt." I say.

"Ok.. so I'll talk to you...Tonight?" She insists.

"Yeah..yeah...tonight then." I say.

"Ok, talk to you later, Dustin." She waves and turns to walk away.

"Later." A big smile finds it's way across my face. Shane runs over to me, still watching Ivette walk out of Storm Chargers.

"Dude! You are so the mac right now! Ha!" Shane 'fives' me, nodding. Wow.. I talked to a hot girl and so got her number! I'm not such a dork after all.

"Yeah, so..uh.." I say with pride, "She's definitely coming!"

"That's right!" Me and Shane exchange pats on the back, grinning.

"So, that's 1. 5 more to go." I say.

"We should invite nothing but chicks and totally pimp it." Shane jokes.

We laugh, as Shane helps me bust out more boxes.


	15. It's normal to want to call you

A/N: Hey there all! Dude, I am like so mad! My computer is sooooo slow and it sucks! For some reason it wont allow me to review! Whats that all about? Well anyway it freezes my comp and then I have to restart it but I'm still trying !!! But anyway my point is... I am so sorry that I haven't been reviewing..my comp is retarded but I will do so as soon as I can...

Dyrne-Faemne: OMG!!! Tori and Dustin, Rangers in Love is sssssssoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!!!!!! I am loving it so far!! You must write!!! Write!! Hehe more please asap ...as soon as I can I will review.. just know that I am a loyal reader and I'm in the midst of reading all your stories.. btw...what is that adult fan fic site?

Well..sorry for the blabbing...on with it!!!

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"Ok...so...planning this party..." Tori pulls out her blue notebook and a pen. She writes, 'Party Supplies' at the top of the page.

"Woah," I say, sipping a glass of orange juice, "Hardcore, organized planning much?"

"You can never be too over planned for parties, ya know." Tori sticks her tongue out at me.

Here we sit, me and Tori, on the couch in our living room after a long hard day at our jobs. Today is Wednesday, and Friday is just around the corner. Way short notice, if you ask me.

"So....we need chips...um...pizza?" Tori asks, scratching her head with her blue pen.

"Um...sure..well, who's coming?" I ask, orange juice leaking from the corners of my mouth. Such a dork. And clumsy at that.

Tori giggles, "Ha, hey Dustin, need a bib?" She smacks my leg.

"Oh! Hey, that's funny!" I mock. I wipe my mouth with my hands. Tori scribbles something down in her party planner. I don't bother to lean over her shoulder and read it. I sit, quietly, drinking my juice. The TV is on mute for reasons I totally forgot, and I stare at the soundless screen.

"Ok..pizza's good then. We can just oder as many pies as we'll need." She speaks. And I'm not sure if she's talking to me or to herself. Damn...this is some good ass orange juice....

"You know, this party thing is kinda short notice." I say, still staring mindlessly at the TV screen.

"So, you don't wanna have it?" Tori asks, disappointment in her voice.

"I didn't say all that – but everyone we invite might already have plans or something.." I say.

"Well, did you invite anyone yet?" Tori asks.

"Uh...yeah..." I hesitate.

"What is that??" Tori barks, pointing to the permanent marker on my forearm.

"Um.." I think...I think... should I say that it's a girl I met today at work? Should I lie and say it's a girl for Shane? Oh, man... I don't want anything at all to make Tori think I'm into someone else...not that she'd probably care in the least.

Tori's face grows annoyed and impatient as she studies the black marker, "This is a cell phone number. Who's number is this?" She defensively interrogates.

"Well, see...there was this girl at work today and Shane was really into her, but he was shy, so, he asked me to talk to her for him and she said..um..sure tell him to call me, and then she gave me her number to give to him." Yeah, that'll work. I totally just lied my ass off. And for what, honestly. I mean, Tori is not even my girl.

She's staring at me, blinking her eyes rapidly. She is so not buying any of this. She seems mad at me. "Ok...so, what are you gonna do....give Shane your arm??" Tori's face crinkles. Her sarcastic tone sounds to me like she's a little jealous.

"No..... I just-"I sigh, trying to quickly add something more believable to my story.

"So, you're telling me...that at Storm Chargers, you couldn't find anything for her to write her number on? A post it? A piece of receipt tape? Nothing at all?" Tori shakes her head.

"Um...."

"Whatever Dustin." She goes back to her notebook.

Awkward silence, once again, fills the room. After about a minute and a half, I can't take the sound of Tori's angry pen scraping the paper. I grab the remote and un-mute the TV.

"Ugh, thanks!" Tori, seemingly angry at me, right now, gets up and walks into her room, slamming the door. Shocked, confused, and weirded out, I look at her bedroom door, puzzled.

"Ok...what the hell was that all about?" I whisper to myself, getting up to refill my glass with more O.J.

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I stare at my arm. Still, almost fresh, untouched inked numbers. I hold my cell phone in my other hand. What to do...what to do...

Should I call her? She said to call her tonight, but, what would I say? I mean, at least at the party there'd be more people around and it wouldn't be as awkward and nerve-racking. Ughh...but, what would I say? Man, I have a real big tendancy of saying the most air-headed things. I'd ruin it if I opened my mouth.

I look at the time. It's 12 AM on the dot. Maybe its too late to call her...I'm in my bed with my TV on and tuned to the cartoon network. The Powerpuff Girls, to be exact. The lights are out and I don't feel sleep taking over anytime soon. Well, here goes absolutely nothing...my heart beats faster as I punch in each number...oh boy...

Ring...once.

Ring...twice...

Ring...three rings...

Maybe I'll get her voicemail..

"Hello?" A soft, breathy voice answers. Oh, dude...she picked up..don't say something stupid...act natural...

"Hi..Ivette?" I ask, already feeling dumb.

"Speaking. Who's this?" She seems to already have a clue who I am.

"Dustin.. I .. I..met you at Storm Chargers today." I say. Oh...what a chump!

"Hey, Dustin! I thought you forgot about me... I was really sad." Ivette's voice is so soothing.

"No...no way! So, uh... I didn't wake you did I?" Man, I suck at this.

"Nope... I'm just laying in bed watching some TV." She sighs.

"Hey, me too! Cool." Ugh..what a loser!!

"Really?" Ivette laughs, "Whatcha watchin'?"

"Uh..." I hurry to change the channel, embarrassed to let her know I was watching cartoons. "Um..." I stop at an old western. Looks kinda cheesy but, whatever, "Some western flick...not sure the name of it."

"Cool..I'm watching music videos. I love music." Ivette says, happily.

"Oh, me too." I agree.

"What music you like?"

"Um...all kinds...but mostly hardcore." I say, "And punk."

"Awesome! Me too!!" Ivette giggles, "So name some of your favorite bands.. This will definitely determine if I like you or not.."

"Uh..." Dammit! This is a trick question... "Lets see....UnderOATH ..um..Alexisonfire ... Evergreen Terrace... Blink is cool I guess..."

"Coheed and Cambria?????" Ivette asks.. Dude.. That's Tori's favorite band... um.. I gotta say I like them...

"Yes! Of course!" I lie.

"Ha! Yeah I like you!" She laughs.

"Yeah.. I kinda noticed you were a Coheed fan from the patch on your bag." I say.

"Oh, so you did check me out, huh?" Ivette flirts.

"Um...well..." I stutter.

"You're so adorable." She says, "It's ok... I was checkin' you out, too."

Oh, man...what do I do? I'd totally be all over this if I wasn't madly in love with Tori. The last thing I want to do is lead Ivette on and hurt her. And the worst thing is, if Tori doesn't feel the same way about me, then I'm totally gonna miss out on having a serious chance with Ivette. Is it just me, or do I never know what the hell to do in any situation?? Damn love! It sucks!

"Oh...really? That's awesome." The only words I could think of.

"So, Friday's the party, huh?" Ivette asks.

"Yup." Wow, I couldn't say anything better than that?

"Can I see you before then? Like, tomorrow?" She is so sweet. I can't tell her no...nor do I want to...but....

"Well, I work all day tomorrow.." I try to make an excuse..tell her the truth, but an excuse.

"Well how about after work?" Ivette persists.

"Um..."

"C'mon, Dustin.......Pweeaaseee!" She pleads.

"Ok..sure.. I get out at 9" Ahhhh, so much for excuses..

"Ok, then.. I'll see ya there."

"At Storm Chargers?" I question, not sure I understand what's going on.

"Yeah, silly!" Ivette giggles, "You're so cute!"

"Um..ok.." I feel my cheeks blush.

"See you tomorrow." Ivette says.

"Tomorrow." I reassure.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

-click-

Wow, that wasn't so bad, was it? My heart, still beating like crazy. I lay back and comfortably rest my head on my pillow. Ivette seems awesome... but my mind floats right back to Tori. I miss her already, and she's only in the next room. Her room. I wonder if she's asleep... I wonder if she'll come sleep next to me tonight..maybe she's still mad at me. But I didn't do anything! Girls are weird, dude....Tori got way jealous of Ivette writing her number across my arm.

Sleeping next to Tori two nights in a row was starting to spoil me. I want her next to me right now. If she could climb into my bed at night, then why couldn't I climb into hers? I'm going through 'Tori Withdrawal'.... I roll out of my bed and carefully make my way, through the dark living room where Shane is asleep, to Tori's bedroom door. Maybe I shouldn't go in there..maybe I should just abort the mission.. I sigh, holding the door knob, my head against the door. Oh, well.... I got nothing to lose.. I open the door slowly and make my way into her room...


	16. My heart is on the floor Step on it

A/N: Hey there...Ok...heres the deal... This story was originally nc-17...I am so bummed that I had to drastically cut a lot of the more intense scenes. With this chapter especially... I mean I don't know how far I can go, but I'm taking a risk.. So if this chapter really sucks and seems short and badly written....most of the scene was cut.. so so sorry...if anyone is interested in the full original scene...let me know...

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She looks like she's sleeping...but I can't tell. I inch my way up to her bed. I loom over her, anxiously trying to decide if I should just go back to my own bed, and stare at the ceiling all night.

"Dustin?" Tori asks. She's not asleep. She doesn't turn to look at me at all.

"Hey, Tori... I uh... can't sleep...again...sorry.." I say nervously. I'm such a dumbass....

"Me neither." Tori rolls over. I feel her eyes on me. Through the darkness, I notice a smile on her face. Tori moves over to make room for me.

I slowly climb into her bed. She shares her fluffy blue pillow, and I lay my head. Our bodies, so close. Way closer than on my bed. I have to fight myself tonight from growing too excited. She'd notice, for sure. Oh man, I am freaking out here, with her next to me. I want to wrap my arms around her, but I just can't. I wonder what she's thinking. We lay, spooning, but I'm trying not to touch her. I'm staring at the back of her head, her hair smells so good. I close my eyes and take in her scent. The heat from her body. Her breathing. I hear her let out a sigh. She wiggles around to face me. Surprised, my eyes pop open and I catch her eyes. Here we are, gazing at each other...again...the same as before. I feel myself pulling towards her...almost magnetically. I fight the urge to kiss her. Damn, I want to kiss her so bad! So bad! There is so much tension in this room right now, and I really don't know what to do. Should I go?

I hear Tori sigh and swallow hard. Suddenly, I feel a hand on mine, underneath her sheets. Oh my God.. Tori is touching me...Dude... my heart feels like its going to explode...but no, its not that serious, right? I mean I'm her friend..she touches my hand a lot...right? My skin feels tingly, almost like I'm dreaming. Tori moves my hand, slowly away from me, and places it on her stomach. Her bare stomach. Her warm, soft skin. At this point, I totally give up on trying to suppress my hard on. I breathe heavily, more scared than I've been in a while. The room is silent. All I can hear is the sound of my own heart beating loudly. I can swear I feel Tori's beating, too. Just as fast as mine. Tori moves my hand slowly, down her stomach.

Lower...

Lower....

Lower....

Oh...

My...

God.......

She is so smooth and hairless... My manhood is massive, at this point and I find my hand between her legs. I realize that all she is wearing is a t-shirt and panties. Tori's heavy breathing and soft moans fill the room, breaking the silence. She's squirming and shuttering all over the place. My heart is racing and I'm breathing intensely, massively turned on. I want her so bad.... it's been a while since I last pleased a female like this...and she doesnt seem to be complaining at all....

"I .... I think I'm...." She whispers in my ear, between the heavy breathing. She wiggles and shutters, Throwing a hand over her mouth as she lets out a loud moan.

Woah.. that was intense...As much as I don't want to, I pull my fingers from inside of her.. Tori's still breathing deeply as she calms herself down. A sudden rage of guilt and total embarrassment comes over me.

Tori, not saying a word, looks over at me. She looks like she's just seen a ghost.

"Oh God! Oh Dude!" I say, swallowing hard. "Oh...no... what did I do? I'm so, so sorry.. I'm so sorry.." I quickly, jump up out of the bed leaving Tori blankly staring at me. "I'm so sorry, Tori.. I .... I am so sorry.." I say, running out of the room, and into the bathroom. I run right by Shane, who's dead asleep on the fold out bed from the couch in the living room. I flick on the light, blinded by the brightness at first, I squint, letting my eyes adjust. I look at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes now, wide, staring at myself. I look at my hand. Oh..my hand...My fingers are the luckiest fingers ever! Oh my God...she felt even better than in my dreams... I can only imagine how she'd feel if...

I hold my lucky fingers up to my nose and inhale. Oh, dude...she smells sooooooo amazing...... Gosh! What am I doing??? I feel like a rapist... a pervert.... A horrible, horrible human being..... but...**she** put my hand there....she so wanted it, too... I can't feel bad about it.. I shouldn't .... But I do... uggghhhh!! Why do I have to be the nice guy? Why??? I feel like I ruined everything.. EVERYTHING! Dude..friends don't finger each other! They just don't!!

Suddenly, Tori's figure appears in the bathroom doorway. Staring right at me, she closes the door behind her. I look away, ashamed to look at her. Because, I know if I look at her, I'm going to grab her and finish what we started.. then I'll really feel like a rapist. She hates me right now...she hates me I know it....

"Dustin-" Tori tries to speak but I don't want to hear her say how much she hates me.

"Tori, I'm sorry...truly... um.. so sorry.. I swear to you I did not plan on any of that when I came into your room.. It just .. I don't know..." I stutter, losing all my words inside my messed up brain.

"It just...happened...look, I know...it's my fault.. I'm the one who's sorry, Dustin... I'm sorry if I freaked you out.. I got a little carried away. I'm sorry.. it's just... it's been a while...and.. you were there and...well...you know.." Tori tried to explain, in so many words, that I just happened to be there when she really wanted someone else. Ouch.. hey thanks, Tor.. I feel like dying right now. Dropping dead on this bathroom floor. I'd die at the feet of the girl I love. Uh.... Now I sound all emo again.. and a part of me thought that if there was any other time to tell her how I feel... now would be that time.... But without knowing it....she just broke my heart into 5 pieces... again...

"Oh... yeah.. um.. I ... um" Still no words. Well, why do I even bother anyway? Whatever....

Tori is standing uneasily in front of me, blocking the door, "Can we just forget this happened.. can we please?? Can we just put it behind us and just be the same as we were earlier? Please?" Tori pleaded. Are you serious??? You want me to forget this?? Like it was nothing?? So basically she's saying it was nothing to her, so just forget it.. delete it...scratch it out.. cut it from the script... This film can do without it.. it isn't important. Wow.....rip me open a little more, here.. please.... Just take your hand and rip my heart right out of my chest!!! Throw it, still beating, right onto the floor and step on it... laugh as the blood squirts between your toes...Damn Tori.... But she is not going to let me leave this tension filled shit hole until she knows for sure this little mess is cleaned up.

"Sure. Already forgotten." I lie, choking back tears. Forgetting this, is not going to be easy for me. Forgetting the little details...how amazing she felt..Oh, dude..it's gonna be even harder...

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A/N: Dammit! Ok so there it was...oh man.. so much was cut out but I'm sure you can use your imagination and fill in the blanks.. hehehee... The biggest problem with writing in the first person is that I , well Dustin, can only describe how he feels and how he sees the other persons reactions. Unfortunately he cant really describe how Tori is feeling or thinking about the situation.. . I don't know but with Tori's actions one can only get the feeling that she's way in denial.. Hey thanks for reading please tell me what you think!!! I am not happy with this chappie....


	17. With bruises on his ego

A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews!! I am glad you liked it! For whoever wants the original version...I can send it to you through email. I guess if you want to read it....click on my email in my profile and drop me a line..or a dime..or whatever lolol well..heres the next chapter...

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Somewhere between the sun coming up this morning, and now, I had fallen asleep. What time is it? I roll over in my bed to look at the clock. Those bright red numbers. 11:47??? No way!! Uuggghhhh!!! I am so dead!

"Oh, man, Kelly is gonna filet my ass!" I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom. What? The door is locked?

"Dude! I'm on the shitter!" Shane's voice echoes from behind the door.

"Shane! I'm so late for work it's not even funny!" I yell back at him. This would be just my luck. All these random events of lets-fuck-with-Dustin.

"I'm sorry bro, I'll try to hurry up." As Shane yells back at me, I lean my body up against the door. I slowly slide down onto the floor, where I sit with my head buried in my hands. I catch a slight reminder of last night, as I breathe in, faintly, Tori's scent still on my fingers. She smells like the sweetest of roses mixed with a little mango..or pineapple...something sweet and juicy....just wanna eat it up....

But, oh dude! I could so throw myself out of a window right now! And Sensei would be way pissed if that was the case. He'd feel like he failed me because I'm still such an ass after all his training and wisdom. But I'd be a dead ass. Bloody and dead. Maybe Tori would care then....

Suddenly, the door opens and I fall onto Shane's feet. "What the- " Shane says looking down at me. I look up at him with almost the same look I gave Blake...almost...

"Dude..you okay??" Shane asks, helping me to my feet , " I sprayed and everything! I even flushed!" He pats me on the back.

"You know, Kelly is going to murder me." I say.

"That's not my fault you woke up late, bro. Hey, at least you got some sleep." Shane always tries to shine light on a dark, nasty situation.

"Yeah, like two hours...that's a nap.. I'm tired and cranky..and..uugggghh!! Dammit!!" I pull at my hair.

"What's going on with you, man?" Shane looks on, confused.

"I gotta see this girl today! Fuck! I am so tired and...oh man!" I say.

"Ivette? You're seeing her today? Oh, that's what I'm talkin' about!" Shane slaps my arm, harder than I'd seen it coming. Ouch... I rub the pain out.

"Dude, I look and feel like shit!" I whine.

"Well, you can change that, now go take a shower and lets get you looking super-hot-motocross-guy!!! And lets not forget super-hot-motocross-guy-with-the-super-hotter-skater-friend!!" Shane gloats, pushing me into the bathroom, closing the door.

"Good one!" I yell out to him. I hear him cackling as I take a piss.

Me and Shane sprint from my car to Storm Chargers as fast as we can. I swing open the door, Shane trailing behind me. Noticing me running up to her, Kelly places her hands on her hips, looking at her watch.

"Do you know what time it is?" She lightly scolds.

"Kelly, I can totally explain-" I begin.

"It was my fault, Kel..not Dustin's. I'm sorry." Shane covers for me.

"Hey, Shane, you want a job?" Kelly asks. What? Oh, man, I am so done for!

"Huh?" I let out a squeal. My face drops to the floor. Oh, man. She is totally firing me!

"Not **your** job, silly! I need an extra set of hands around here." Kelly smiles.

"Oh!! Oh, dude, I thought I was canned!" I laugh a laugh of pure relief.

"Yeah, Kel!! Oh, yeah, Kel thanks!!" Shane hugs Kelly.

"No problem. Shane. Always looking to help out a friend." She smiles.

"So, where do I start?" Shane jumps up, eager to work.

"Bust out those massive shipment boxes. Dustin will show you. You both can work on them together. I'll work on the ladies swimsuits and surf gear." Kelly says, pointing to the usual shipment.

"Yes ma'am!" Shane salutes his new boss.

"Oh..and Dustin, you got a call today- A bike is coming in this afternoon from a guy named Frank – He needs an oil change and a few minor adjustments, so when that comes, you can do your thing. That's it so far with the bikes. So far." Kelly informs. I nod, surprised, so far, I only have one bike coming in today.

"Oh, and uh..Dustin." Kelly says.

"Yeah Kel."

"Next time, give me a call and let me know you're going to be an hour late." Kelly smirks.

"No problem. You're the best, Kel!" I suck up.. I mean it.. but I so suck up.

"yeah, yeah...love ya too.." Kelly says, walking away.

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"So..." She speaks in a slight whisper.

"So..." I don't know exactly what to say. Or what she wants me to say.

"How's work going so far?" She asks.

"Not bad...not bad at all... Actually, I was an hour late.." I say. I keep a lookout for any customer that might need my help. Shane is on a food run and Kelly is in the back on an important phone call.

"Ooh... I was wondering if I should've woken you up this morning or not." She says.

"It's ok... Shane works at Storm Chargers now." I tell her the good news.

"Wow! Woah, how'd that happen? I mean, it's about time!" She giggles , "He's in there enough!"

"Yeah..." I say. I mean, it's not weird. Not really... but it is. She's Tori...she's my best friend. But talking to her right now is just so...different.

"You sound busy." Tori asks. I'm guessing in response to my silence.

"No, not at all, actually...the store's basically dead." I say, playing with a surfboard keychain.

"Yeah.. it's dead over here, too. I don't know, I'm guessing later it'll probably pick up. The Thursday night rush. Hopefully, I'll be gone by then." Tori sounds unenthusiastic. Woah...big word.

"What...you work until 7?" I ask.

"Yup..and you get out at 9. See, I know your schedule by now." I hear a smile in Tori's voice, "So, about tomorrow..."

"Oh, yeah..tomorrow..the party..yeah, how's that going down?" Yes, the party... I hope this goes well. We still haven't even discussed who was invited.

"I dunno.... I told everybody to be at our place by like 7-ish... I guess. Or later, whatever." Tori says.

"Who's **everybody**?" I really want to know who to expect at this party. No more surprises, please.

"You know, people from work..the 'Pac Sun' crew!" Tori giggles, "And Vanessa and the girls of course!"

"I think you might have gone way over your 6 people limit. That's cool, though....cuz I really didn't invite anyone anyway." I say, nonchalantly.

"Dustin.." Tori's voice grows serious. Oh no..what's she gonna say..that she hates me? I know she hates me...

"Yup." What else can I say?

"Are you ok?" Tori asks.

"I'm fine." I say. I don't really feel like talking all this mindless crap that we both don't care about to cover up the things we really wanna say. And at the same time, I don't really wanna say the things I really wanna say...

"You sure?" Tori insists.

"You'd know if something was wrong. Trust me." I say.

"Ok." Tori seems like she's trying to tell me something but she doesn't know how to say it.. but I'm not going to ask.

Silence.... I have to break it... I can't stand it...

"This party thing is underprepared." I say. Silence, broken.

"What? It's a little on the spur of the moment, but it's definitely not under prepared!" Tori barks back.

"Ok...ok..call it what you want...as long as my Shaney pooh is there, I'm good." I laugh.

"Oh.. ok then." Tori laughs right along with me. Good, we're actually conversing like we're best friends again.

"Wow.. yeah I really didn't invite anyone. I'll do that today." I say.

"Well, talk about your last minute." Tori mocks.

"Yeah, yeah..."

Just then, someone rings the assistance bell at the counter.

"Oh, Tor, I gotta go." I say walking over to the counter. Don't wanna make Kelly mad at me again today.

"Ok, call me later." Tori says.

"All over it."

"Later."

"Peace."

-click-

I slip my cell phone into my cargo pocket of my pants. There, at the counter stands this tall, diesel looking dude with wild curly hair. The look on his face isn't pleasant. I hesitantly walk up to him.

"Uh, hi..can I help you?" I ask, fearing for my life.

"Yeah... I called about getting my bike fixed." His voice wasn't all that scary. I felt a little better.

"Oh," I say, noticing the bike next to him, "You must be Frank.. yeah...ok.. I'm the mechanic, what seems to be the problem?" I bend down to take a quick look at his black and red, tribal painted machine. "Wow...bro, this bike is sick!" I say, studying the custom paint job.

"Wait," Frank interrupts my excitement, "**You're** the mechanic?" He questions. I stand up to face him.

"Yeah.." I say, not sure what the problem is.

"You're Dustin Brooks aren't you?" Frank asks.

"Yeah." Weirded out, I look at him, confused. My guard, heavily up.

Frank starts to laugh. I cross my arms infront of my chest. What's so funny?

"What's so funny?" I ask, out loud.

"Wait, so you're the guy that can't even land a freestyle jump!" Frank bursts into laughter. He is starting to piss me off. As he catches his breath, he continues, "So, how the hell are you gonna fix a bike if you can't even ride one?"

I clench my fists, my face is steaming. The only other customer in the store is staring over at us, wondering what's going on. I can't really do anything. I can't really say anything. Man, if I assault a customer, Kelly would kill me. Not to mention I'd be out of a job. And I can't afford to lose my job over some random asshole.

"I assure you, sir, I know what I'm doing." I say trying to smile. Trying to brush off the insult that would usually get a dude beat down. Nobody bags on my riding....

"Nah, that's ok..." Frank says, evily smirking at me. He grabs his bike, "I'll take her somewhere else... where the mechanic isn't a complete pussy."

What? What the hell did he just call me??

"Did you just call me a pussy??" I say, enraged.

"I didn't stutter." Frank threatens.

The front door to Storm Chargers flies open. Shane walks in with two big bags of Taco Bell and 3 sodas.

"Hey man! Got the killer munchies!!" He says, suddenly noticing the not-so-friendly event. Dropping the food, He quickly runs over to where me and Frank are about to rip each others heads off.

"Hey bro, what's the deal?" Shane's voice becomes serious. Threatening. The former Red Wind Ranger stares hard at Frank.

"Who's this guy, your body guard? Get the hell outta here!" Frank sarcastically laughs.

Shane growls and I hold him back. He looks at me. I shake my head.

"No way, dude...we'll both get canned!" I say, angered to all hell.

"True..we're better than that." Shane tries to relax. Now with Shane here, it's way easier to do just that.

"Whatever.. Yo Brooks, I'll see your faggot ass at the track!!" Frank yells out. Instinctively, I go to run at him, but Shane holds me back. Frank laughs as he wheel his bike out of Storm Chargers.

"I'm gonna clock out right now and go bust his ass!!" I say walking behind the register. I am so pissed right now!!

"No you're not!" Shane grabs my shoulders. He leads me from behind the counter and sits me on the couch, "You're taking a break. I got you some food...and you're gonna relax and eat." Shane brings over my 2 soft tacos , chicken quesedilla and my raspberry iced tea. What would I do without Shane?

My nerves are so shot! It's gonna take a while before my appetite comes back. And in the midst of all this, I can't stop thinking about last night. I know, I know, I'm supposed to just forget it ever happened. I promised I would. But it keeps haunting me. It's like, hey you can say whatever you want, dude... but I finger banged Tori last night!!... I am so wrong...But I just wish it could've been more....way more...


	18. Let me take this awkward saw

As if anything else can go wrong, my orders got all screwed up again. Not to mention how I knocked over a t-shirt rack and cracked one of our display cases. So now, Kelly has to pay for a new one. I offered to pay for it or at least help her pay for it, but she said not to worry. It was an accident. A mistake. That's an excuse for my entire life. It was just an accident. This whole thing was a mistake. A cruel joke. How did life get so hard? How can all this change over night? I don't get how all of a sudden everyone I come across wants to fight me. Insult me. Bitch me out. Even my so called friends... what is up with that? When is this gonna end?

Everyday something bad has to happen.. something has to go wrong. I haven't truly felt myself in a long while. I don't want to hold this burden anymore. I mean, what else is there? There's got to be more than this... Everyone that I thought had my back, I'm totally questioning. With Blake buggin' out, I just don't know..

Maybe this is all a bad trip.. a fucked up high..man, Tori's right.. I need to stop smoking trees with Shane.. And speaking of Tori – I don't understand us anymore. Our whole relationship is warped. I know how I feel.. but as for her, she's all confused. Whatever's been up with us sleeping in the same bed at night, throwing these jealousy trips, calling each other for no reason at all, and not to mention being physical – I am so dumbfounded, I just can't take it! And how the hell am I supposed to bring up the situation? I'm the one with the feelings. I'm the one who's constantly in emotional torture because she doesn't realize how much she hurts me. She doesn't get it. And I don't know if it's fair to her that I'm not spilling the truth. I mean, there are two sides to every story. My side is on it's death bed. Love is the worst hurt...and I wish I was able to let go. But she's too worth it.

Blake was my friend. I truly had his back. But apparently, he never truly had mine. And for Tori to stick up for him after all of this! For her to say that I'm wrong for feeling angry!! She hurt me so bad!

Now this dude, Frank, wants to kick my ass for no apparent reason. Kelly is mad at me. I've been fucking up at work. Ugghh!! Not to mention I can't sleep at night...can't land my freestyle jumps..Kelly thinks I need a break.. I can't even go out with a girl because I'm so hung up on Tori! I'm bracing myself.....what's next? What else can possibly happen?

"Dustin.." A voice through the crack of the slightly opened door. Kelly. I look over to see her peeking into the backroom, Where I sit, a mess, drowning in my own self pity. "It's 9, love...and you have a visitor." Kelly speaks softly. Almost as if she's afraid to disturb me.

"Thanks, Kel. Hey...I'm real sorry. I'm just...buggin' "I say, no expression on my face whatsoever.

"Don't apologize..just please get some rest." Kelly throws a concerned half-smile at me, before disappearing out onto the floor.

I sigh, sitting in a dimly lighted backroom. I don't want light. I don't want to see..or be seen.

I sigh and slowly make my way to my feet. I can't leave this girl hanging. I just can't. I walk out of the back room, smacked in the face by the bright light. I suck my teeth, squinting, my arm over my eyes.

"Dustin!" Ivette's cheery voice startles me.

"Hey." I say, not wanting to sound how I feel. As my eyes adjust, I notice how beautiful she looks, "Wow... Ivette...you look ...way nice."

"Awe.. I tried.. thanks.. you don't look so bad yourself." She says, giggling.

"Blah.. I look like shit...sorry." I rub my eyes. I must look like a dirty bum on the street. But whatever, I'm worked...

"So, you off?" She asks.

"Indeed, I am." I say, grabbing my bag of leftover tacos from earlier.

"Great!" Ivette says, adjusting her shoulder strap bag.

I wave 'bye' at Kel as Ivette and I make our way out to my car. Seeing her smile at me and hearing her gitty, happy voice makes me feel lighter. For a minute I almost forget how much my life sucks...almost...


	19. This is a violation

"I don't know.. I can't exactly place it.. I just, get this vibe from you." Ivette attempts to explain while slurping her chocolate milkshake.

"Hmm..that's a good thing?" I raise my eyebrows. Maybe I don't really need to know the answer to that one..

Ivette rolls her eyes,"Of course, silly! If it was bad I wouldn't be here with you right now."

"Cool." I remove the plastic cover from my cup and nervously play with the straw. Because at the same time, I want her to like me – but I don't. I want to be here with her – and I don't. This must be the most awkward of moments, talking over milkshakes at the local Dairy Queen.

Ivette looks around the room. I can tell she's probably thinking of what to say next. Or waiting for me to speak..

"Yeah..so.." I say, quickly realizing that I have nothing to say. So now I look even more stupid.

"Dustin, are you shy?" Ivette randomly asks.

"Uh.. I can be...you aren't though..that's obvious." I take notice of Ivette's shirt for the 20th time tonight...and it's kinda see through.

"Yeah, I'm not... I'm such a girl though." Ivette says.

"Wow..well I hope so!" I laugh, struggling to sip my strawberry milkshake from the straw. Damn this is a thick milkshake!

Ivette lightly nudges my foot with hers, "You know what I mean!" She laughs.

"Alright, so what is this whole 'vibe' thingy all about?" I say feeling a little more comfortable.

Ivette smiles and a slight blush rushes to her cheeks, "It's like, oh..it's hard to explain...like I've known you forever. Like you always kinda been there..and I just never knew..ya know?"

"There? You mean at Storm Chargers? Yeah, I've always been there! I'm surprised you never knew me!" I nod.

Ivette starts to laugh. What? What did I say? Oh well...

"Dustin..you are something else!"

"Am I? Ok..now you're confusing me! What else is there?" I don't know what this girl is talking about... but I do know she looks hot in a white tank top. Her laugh calms to a sigh as she stares softly at me. A deep soft stare. I find myself warmly smiling at her, while we lock eyes.

"You are..just..wow..you are so.." Ivette stutters.

"Hey, Ivette.." I interrupt.

"Yeah.."

"I hate to be a pooper but, would it be ok if I dropped you home after this? I'm just ssoooo tired. Don't think for a second that I'm trying to get rid of you." I say, yawning, "I just worked all day.."

"Hey, no explanation needed.. I understand." She smiles.

"Awesome." I smile back.

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"Here I am, that house right there." Ivette points to a fairly big house. From what I can make out, in the dark, it looks pink.. maybe. I stop the car, abruptly. Our bodies jerk forward.

"Sorry." I can't help but giggle at myself. I'm such a winner.

"Ha! That's ok..stop apologizing!" She playfully makes a fist at me. At least I hope she's just playing. I get beat up by chicks a whole lot.

Now this is the part that gives me those flutters in the pit of my stomach. The silence...the uncomfortable smile, laugh, nod...You know, that end of the night goodbye, where you're shitting in your pants 'cuz you don't know whether to walk her to the door, just wave her off, lean in for a kiss...man...I am so wishing this night would end already..and not because of Ivette..but because while I'm with her, I'm thinking about someone else...

"I had fun." I say, both hands on the steering wheel.

"Me too." She speaks those words like she truly means them.

"So..tomorrow, um.... I'll call you when I get off of work.. or.. sometime between then and when I'm about to pick you up." I say, looking over at her, trying to keep my hands clenched around the wheel.

"Sounds great. Ok..so then I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Ivette nods, nervously, it seems. I can't tell for sure, but I feel that she's just as uncomfortable as I am, or she's waiting for me to make a move. Dammit, Dustin!!

"Yup." One word answer..what am I doing? I sigh. I turn to Ivette and I think I'm hurting her feelings.

"Ok..bye Dustin." She doesn't even look at me as she turns away and opens the car door. As she attempts to climb out, I grab her arm.

"Wait, wait!" I startle her a bit.

"Yeah?" Her eyes, like puppy dog eyes. So innocent and eager to hear what I have to say. Well not that her eyes can actually hear, but, you know...

"I really did have a great time with you." I say. What am I doing? Oh, what am I doing?

Ivette's face lights up, "Dustin... I know we just met, but.." She takes a breath.

Oh no.. don't say it...

"I really like you...you give me butterflies. I haven't had this feeling in a while." She says, her face and voice turning way serious.

No.. don't like me... don't like me...

"Why?? I'm such a goof... I'm such a loser." I say, feeling like a moron.

Ivette gently touches my face. For some reason, it does something to me. I swallow hard catching her eyes.

"Don't you ever say that. You're amazing." Still touching my face, Ivette glances at my lips and slightly licks hers. I feel our faces getting closer and closer... I know what's coming next. And I can't do anything about it.... The next thing I know, our lips are touching, sharing the softest, sweetest kiss. God, her lips are so soft and perfect. And she tastes like strawberries..

Before I know it, Ivette's tongue is in my mouth. She grabs the back of my head and we start to heavily make out. She, without moving her lips from mine at all, climbs onto my lap, hitting the horn with her butt. Oh man... it's been so long..so long...and it's hard to think when you've got a beautiful girl on top of you.

"Woah.....we can go on all night.." I say between kisses, "But.."

Ivette grabs me and tongues me down, showing no mercy to the fact that at some point, we will both need to breathe.

"I....really...gotta...go.." I force out my words.

Ivette pulls away, studying my face. She's breathes heavily, "You do have to go.. I'm sorry.." She says, with that cute little voice.

"It's cool." I sigh, with a huge smile on my face.

Ivette climbs off of me and back into the passenger seat, the door still open. "Ok.. I'm really going this time." She giggles.

"I'll call you." I say as she climbs out and closes the door. She leans over the open window.

"You better." She laughs. We share a smile, both of us blushing. Then Ivette turns away and heads for her door, occasionally looking back at me with a quick smile. I wait until she's inside her house before I drive off.

"What are you doing?" I say to myself, hitting the steering wheel. "Oh, man.... I'm gonna break her heart.." I sigh. I hope its not true.. I hope its not...and it wouldn't be.. if Tori didn't have my heart in the palm of her hand, slowly squeezing and torturing it...


	20. You broke my heart again this time

"Someone's happy..." Kelly winks at me. I'm up to my elbows in grease, totally concentrating on the bike in front of me.

"What?" I ask, confused. Happy? Far from it.... Chillin'?.... That's more like it.

"So, how'd it go with that girl last night? She was really pretty." Kelly smiles anxiously waiting for me to say something. Any little detail.

"Um.. it's not that serious, Kel..it was fun. She's nice." I answer, continuing to work on these brakes. Dude these things are shot... I wipe a stray lock of hair from my forehead with a sigh. Man this really is a sweet bike...with a bit of fine tuning....

"Yeah..you like her!" Kelly laughs.

"I do..she's a nice girl. Just a friend." I say.

"Sure. Whatever. This is me you're lying to D. I know you." She points a finger at me. She's right. Like always.

"Yeah, well.. I can't like her for reasons that I can't say at the moment... So I guess I'll just have to shove it away, huh?" I blurt. Man, too much information, dude...

"Huh?" Kelly looks so confused right now. And I'm just as confused, "What do you mean you **can't** like her? Who says you can't like someone? That's retarded!"

I look up from behind the orange bike, "Nevermind... I just got so many issues right now. I'm... I'm losing it Kel...losing my mind.."

"You need a break, that's why. Why don't you take the rest of the day off.." Kelly offers.

"Nah..that's ok.. I'm off tomorrow anyway, I'll be cool." I say.

"You sure, now?" She stares at me like she's trying to read my mind or something.

"Positive.. plus I just wanna get these bikes done with, so tomorrow, while I'm not here, they wont pile up like mad." I say.

Kelly pauses. She turns to walk away, then stops, spinning around to look at me. "Dustin...thank you.. I don't think I've ever truly just said thank you..for everything."

"For what?"

"For being here. Helping me. Working your ass off for my little establishment. You truly mean a lot to me. I don't know what I'd do without my partner in crime." Kelly winks.

"Wow.. Kel..that means so much to me...you just don't know..but you shouldn't thank me.. I should thank you.. seriously...you believe in me when no one else does. You have faith in me and know that I can do whatever I really want as long as I put my mind to it.. and get rest!" I throw at her, the most sincere face.

"Oh, Dustin, you're gonna make me cry! Stop it!" she laughs, sniffling a little.

"We rock! No lie! Me and you are the shit!" I excitedly blurt. Kelly laughs, slapping a high-five. A greasy one..oops.. "Sorry..."

"A little grease never hurt anyone.." Kelly shrugs. I smile and me and Kel bullshit and joke around for the rest of the day.

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I put my key into the ignition and turn. Aaahhhh.. how I love that sound... I reach over my shoulder and throw my safety belt on before turning on the radio. Oh great, Coheed and Cambria... I think immediately about Tori..

It's 5:30 and I'm on my way home. I can't wait to see her... My phone rings as I start to drive off..my phone has a love of ringing as soon as I get in my car.. it's Hunter...

"Hello." I answer.

"Dude, I am so bringing the alchohol!!" Hunter gloats. Speechless, I pause.. I didn't invite Hunter only because I didn't want to have to deal with Blake..at all...but Hunter knows about tonight? Um..ok.. Tori told him, I guess...

"Um..ok.." I finally find words, if that's what you wanna call it.

"Dude, you ok?" Hunter asks.

"Yeah..um.."

"Dustin.. you do know that I'm coming down right?"

"Well...um..look..." I start, "The reason why I didn't call you up and invite you was because of Blake...its just way too uncomfortable of a situation..you understand right?" I hope he does. I really don't want to lose Hunter as a friend, too.

"Oh yeah...I understand totally..but you're ok now, right? That's what Tori said." Huner asks, unsure.

"Tori said what? Wait I'm so lost.." I hold the phone to my ear while I drive with my left hand. Not good...please don't let me get pulled over...

"She said that you're totally ok with Blake coming tonight."

"What??" I pull over on the side of the road. "Wait....Tori didn't tell me anything! She didn't tell me Blake was coming tonight at all!" I yell into the phone. I can't believe she'd do that!

"Uh..oh..dude, I had no idea...honestly.." Hunter says.

"She... I .... Oh man, dude!!! How the hell does she not even warn me that he's coming!! No offense, but you're brother is not exactly my favorite person right now!" I bark. My mind is going crazy and my blood is boiling.

"Dude, I thought you knew.. I swear!" Hunter sounds as if he's the one at fault.

"Dude, it's not your fault! I want you to come! All I need now is to get into it with Blake tonight! God, now I'm not even gonna feel comfortable in my own damn house!" I slam my hand against the steering wheel. My skin feels hot and I don't know what to do with this anger.

"Dustin.. I'm gonna have a long talk with my brother tonight before we get there. On the way, I'll threaten him. It'll be ok, bro....if I can help it." Hunter reassures, "I don't like this fighting just as much as you dont. Trust me."

"I can't believe Tori!" I yell out, "I am so fucking angry at her right now! When the hell was she gonna tell me about this?"

"Dude, like I said... I thought you knew." Hunter speaks softly on the other end.

"Well, I guess I know now.." I spit, sarcastically. I sigh. I shouldn't be taking this out on Hunter. No way. "Well, I'll see you tonight then... I gotta go handle this."

"Alright man. Don't worry... he'll be good, ok.." Hunter says.

"Yeah.."

"See ya."

"Word."

-click-

Oh man! So, I never could ever be mad at Tori, huh? Bullshit!! I angrily drive off. Drive home.

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I swing open the door to our apartment. Tori is sitting on the couch preparing snacks.

"So, when the fuck were you gonna tell me that Blake is coming?? When?? Tomorrow???" I bark, not even waiting until I shut the door behind me to confront her.

"Excuse me?" Startled, Tori jumps up.

"Oh, oh...So, now you don't know what I'm talking about? I can't believe you!" I flail my keys around, too pissed to sit, I stand near the door. I don't even bother to bottle up any emotions, or anything at this point. For what? To cater to Tori's feelings like she so lovingly caters to mine? Yeah, whatever!

"Stop yelling at me!" Tori walks over to me, her hands at her hips.

My eyes pop out of my head, "Stop yelling at you? Because you're too special to take it? Because you're too high and mighty to do anything wrong?" I scold.

"What? What the hell-"

"When were you gonna tell me you invited him? C'mon, when?"

"I'm sorry, I –"

"Sorry?? You're always sorry, Tori! Always! And then I have to feel like the bad guy! I have to be the bad person because I don't want him in my house!"

"This is not only your house, Dustin! I'm not going to keep him away because of your little problem!" Tori yells back at me.

"My problem? Fuck, Tori!! Are you for real?" I turn to walk away, but I just pace around the living room. I don't want to fight. I don't want to fight with her. I can't believe what I'm hearing from her mouth right now...

"Dustin, the whole world doesn't revolve around you and your issues ok..." Tori calmly speaks as if its nothing.

I feel like a dagger has just pierced through my heart. How can she say that? How can she hurt me so much? Like, I'm so insignificant. Tears begin to fill my eyes. A mixture of hurt and anger. "So I guess it doesn't matter to you at all how I feel.."

"What?"

"So, my feelings are petty... I guess I just have to push them aside like I always do, huh? You know, 'cuz I'm Dustin, Yeah, I'll get over it, right? I always do."

"Dustin, I didn't –"

"Well, you know what, if Blake is that goddamn important to you that you have to go behind my back, then fine...do what the fuck you want.. but don't expect me to be any part of it!"

"Dustin, you are acting like a complete moron!" Tori angrily stomps her foot down, "You're such a baby! Get the fuck over yourself already! I can't believe you!"

"Me? Oh my God!! It's always me! Always my fault! And the other night – My fault too, huh? 'Cuz you didn't want me to finger you...sure, ok, I got you..." I sarcastically yell. Tori looks at me, disgusted.

Her arms crossed, "I am not a slut!"

"Did I say you were?"

"Fuck you, Dustin! Fuck you!" Tori grabs for a pillow and throws it at me.

"That's how it is?" I say catching the pillow before it hits me.

Tori says nothing. Tears in her eyes. She won't even look at me.

"Fine.. I say, nodding, "Fuck your party! I hope it's worth it!" I open the door and slam it behind me, furiously making my way down the stairs.

Suddenly , I hear Tori open the door, "Fine! I don't care! Be a dick, Dustin!! Fuck you!" She screams. Then a loud thud echoes throughout the building as she slams the door to our apartment.

I jump into my car and skid off. My mind isn't right, right now and my hands are shaking. I don't know what to do, where to go, what to feel. My brain starts to comprehend everything that's just happened and a huge sheet of heartache paralyzes me as I drive to nowhere. How can the one person that I love more than anything cause so much pain? And she doesn't even realize it half the time! She wants to choose Blake over me, fine! Fine! Let her choose him, then! Whatever! I have Ivette and she likes me for me! Fuck this! Fuck love! I hate love! I hate it.. I hate loving her so much..But my God.. I love her so much. A tear falls down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away. No! No way! I refuse to cry! In an upset state, I find myself driving towards Ivette's house...


	21. Anxiety chokes me like razor wire

A/N: Hey!! Sorry for being away for so long, my computer is angry at me...lol well anyway, thanks for the reviews!! You are all awesome!! Here is the next chapter! I am very pleased with this one. I hope you all will be too! And trust me..this story is about to get sssssssssooooooooooooooooooooo good!!

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My phone is ringing....

Again.....

"Dustin..answer it!" Ivette says, rubbing my arm.

"No! Fuck them all!" I bark.

"You don't mean that." She's right. I don't. But my anger wont let me admit to it.

"Whatever."

I don't bother to look at my cell phone at all. The ringing stops. I can only guess who it was. But I can tell you this much – it's not Tori.

"Dustin, it's 9 o'clock... you sure you don't wanna go to the party?" Ivette asks. Here I am sitting on her bed next to her as she attempts to console me.

"Nobody's gonna want me there anyway." I say, staring at the wall. Her walls are painted light purple.

"Exactly! So that would be the reason that your friends are blowing up your phone as we speak!" She points out as my phone starts to ring again.

"Ugghh!!" I growl as I grab for my phone and pick it up, "Hello."

"Dude!! Where the hell are you??" It's Hunter. He's yelling over the loud sounds of laughter and people having fun without me.

"Well, you see, I'm the bad guy.."

"What?"

"Nevermind! Look me and Tori aren't getting along at the moment."

"Dude...Tori is wasted beyond belief right now.."

"What??" My heart sinks. Oh no... I better get over there to protect her. He better not touch her, I swear!

"Yeah...she's having too much fun, it's all good.. and Shane is buggin' out too...dude, c'mon!! I want you to be here. We all do." Hunter says , "Plus, my bro won't be acting a fool at all tonight."

"You sure?" I ask.

"Positive-o"

"Ok.." I sigh.

"Yes!!!!! You better be here in 15 minutes or I'm calling you again! No excuses!!" Hunter laughs.

"I'm leaving now.." I say.

"Alright."

-click-

"You still wanna go to the party?" I look over at Ivette. She looks at me with glassy eyes.

"Sure." She says hinting at a smile.

"Cool." I say as we both stand up and head out.

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"This is it?" Ivette asks standing in front of our apartment door.

"Yup." I say hesitating to open it. The music is on, not too loud. Lots of laughter. Whatever, it's my house too....

I open the door and let Ivette walk in first. The smell of marijuana hits me in the face. Hard. Ivette looks back at me nervously as I close the door behind us. She grabs my arm. And, honestly, I don't care if Tori sees.

"Dustin!!" Shane yells out, "It's about time!!" He runs over to me and Ivette with a blunt in his hand, "Want some?" He waves the trees in my face.

"In a little while, bro..." I say, "You're wasted, dude!"

"Totally!" Shane happily agrees.

"Alright..." I say leading Ivette into the apartment.

And there she is. Sitting on our couch, with him. My heart breaks into a million pieces all over again. Blake, with his arm around her. She's smiling and laughing. As I walk up to her, she looks up at me.

"Hey!" She says, giggling. I catch Blake look away from me. Hunter was right. So far...

"Hey. Having fun?" I ask. A bit of sarcasm.... Mixed with anger....throw in a whole shit load of concern...jealousy too...yeah that's my tone at the moment.

"Sure..." Tori says. She looks at Ivette, "Who are you?" She asks. Her voice, stank.

"Hi, you must be Tori..I'm Ivette. Dustin has told me so much about you!" Ivette reaches her hand out to Tori for a handshake. Tori makes a face, staring at Ivettes hand, ignoring her gesture.

"Funny, he never said anything about you!" Tori barks, rolling her eyes.

Ivette pulls her arm back, speechless. Shocked, she looks up at me.

"Tori's a little preoccupied at the moment... don't listen to her.. it's the alchohol talking.." I try to cover for Tori's rude behavior.

"Whatever!" Tori says, turning her attention over to Blake. She's acting just like him!!

"Um..ok.." Ivette says.

We make our way around and there are people here that I've never seen before in my life. Vanessa and Shane are in the corner making out heavily as Hunter looks on.

"Woah." He says. Hunter, Ivette and I sit at the kitchen table.

"Wow..yeah, I see what you mean." I say, sipping a glass of spiked orange juice.

"Dude, that's all she's about. She'll fuck him by the end of the night. Promised!" Hunter laughs, "No offense to Shane."

Ivette shakes her head and sips her drink. She throws a wink at me and I can't help but smile. Suddenly, the doorbell rings...uh oh...any more cruel surprises??

"Cam!!!!!!!" Tori screams at the top of her lungs.

Me and Hunter both stare at each other before running to the door. There he was..Cam, standing in the door way embracing Tori. Oh, dude!! He's back!!

"Dude!!!" I excitedly yell, running up to him, stealing a hug. Not a half-hug either. Hunter follows behind me.

"Dustin!" Cam actually sounds happy to see me.

"Missed ya man!" Hunter pats Cam on the back as he hugs him.

"Hey, let him in, guys!" I say, shooing the crowd of old friends away from the door. Cam walks in and just as I'm about to close the door, another figure appears behind him. She stares blankly at me. I stare at her, my eyes bulging from their sockets. What? How? Can this day get any worse?

"Hi, Dustin." She says, attempting to smile at me.

"Marah?" I must look so unenthused. That's because I am.

"Hey...how are ya?" She has the nerve to ask?

"I'm fine...Hey, could you remove this knife from my back, now? Thanks." I sarcastically say, turning and walking away...leaving her speechless in the door way.

"Ooohh..." Hunter says under his breath. He follows behind me, gripping my shoulder.

"You know what, dude?" I say as we walk back into the kitchen. "I'm gonna get wasted!" I say, smirking.

"Hell yeah!" Hunter playfully hits me. We walk over to the liquor and immediately start our first round of tequila shots.

"Dude, where's Shane?' Cam asks. Did he just say dude??

My face distorts as my throat burns from the alchohol. I nod towards the corner where Shane and Vanessa continue their make out session.

"Aaahhh.. I see.." Cam nods, "Dustin, I gotta talk to you later...remind me, ok."

"No doubt, whats up?" I say, still recovering as Hunter pours more shots.

"Like I said.." Cam pats my back, "Later."

I throw my thumbs up as Hunter hands me another shot.

"This one's for uh......." Hunter starts.

"Us...for me and you!" I say.

"For us!" Hunter agrees with a smile. We quickly throw our heads back and swallow it down in one gulp.

Ivette comes up behind me and wraps her arms around me. I catch Marah staring at me with a saddened look on her face. I'm through caring..screw it...she deserves to feel like shit. I deserve to make her feel like shit. God, I am starting to feel the drinks kicking in...

"Another?" Hunter asks, already knowing the answer. He's an animal. He's also one of the few who are actually of legal drinking age.

"I'm in!" Ivette raises her hand, her other wrapped around me.

"That a girl!" Hunter points the half full tequila bottle at Ivette.

"Me too!" Marah uneasily yells from across the room. Hunter looks over at me with a worried face.

"Dude, why not.." I say. Marah smiles and runs over to us. She looks up at me. Feeling buzzed and a little more relaxed, I smile at her. Dammit! Oh, whatever.... Hunter hands the three of us our shots.

"this one's for..." I start.

"Hot chicks!!" Hunter says throwing his arm around Marah.

"Hot chicks!" I grab Ivette. All four of us down our drinks like beasts.

Here is where the former protectors of the universe become the real delinquent teenagers that America and the entire world has grown to love. Where your folks realize how imperfect you really are. Disappointments and life get too much to take. Dude, I'm smiling and laughing. Having more fun that I've had in a long time. On the outside.But on the inside, I've never felt more hurt and worthlessness. My skin feels tingly. My limbs feel limp. To a certain extent , relaxed. I hadn't really noticed how attractive all my friends are.. inside and out...with an exception of a few... I take notice of how I cant hear Tori's voice anymore..after a couple more shots, I need to see her..My heart starts pounding and I get nervous all of a sudden...

"Hey, um...will you excuse me for just a second..." I say, making my way into the living room, leaving my friends giggling and laughing.

"Hey, where ya goin?" Ivette follows me.

"Um.. I'll be right back I promise." My head feels weird..Oh wow.. I am on the verge of becoming ssoooooooo wasted... everything seems so loud and far away all at the same time. Ivette smiles at me and tumbles back into the kitchen. I don't see Tori or Blake. What the hell? Where is she? I look around the room full of unfamiliar faces. Someone says something to me but I just don't care...Tori's bedroom door is half opened. I walk over to her door and slide into her room. There she is, looking into her mirror, fixing her hair. She looks like an angel. She notices me standing at her door.

"Dustin..hey.." She smiles.

"Hey...you ok?" I say, fighting my spinning head.

"Yeah.." Tori walks over to me. I meet her halfway. Here we are standing near her bed, the both of us kinda drunk. The both of us, kinda smiling at each other.

"I was worried about you.." I say, scratching my head.

"Really?" Tori smiles, "You are so sweet.." She puts her hand on my chest. I stand there, speechless...not because I have nothing to say...too much to say.

"I wish I could make it all ok... I wish I could, Tori." I start to talk out of my ass.. I don't even really know what I'm saying right now.. and I cant really control it.. I feel like crying my eyes out and kicking the shit out of Blake all at the same time...speaking of that cocksucker...

"What do you mean?" Tori swerves back and forth a little. She leans forward and I quickly grab her and hold her up.

"Tori..maybe you should call it a night and rest, ok." I say, with her in my arms.

"No...I'm ok, Dustin.. I promise..." Tori laughs.

"Ok..then no more drinks ok?" I say.

"Ok, Dustin.. I promise.. no more to drink at all.."

I wipe her hair from her face and sit down with her on her bed, "Sober up...here..just lay down for a little while ok.."

"Lay with me..." Tori says, looking up at me. Her eyes are so beautiful. I swear they are trying to tell me something.. Tori buries her head into my chest as I hold her.

"Ok." I say. If only she knew... if only I could tell her... Tori leans her head up and softly kisses me on the cheek.

Just then, Blake bursts through the door, Startling Tori. She jumps up and quickly wobbles to her feet.

"There you are! I was looking all over for ya!" Blake says grabbing Tori in his arms.

"I think maybe she should get some rest, ya know..sober up.." I say, putting me and Blake's personal issues aside for the sake of Tori.

"I didn't ask you what you think! Don't fucking talk to me, alright! That's an order, dickface!" Blake spins around to scold me with Tori in his arms.

"C'mon, please don't do this now guys..please." Tori pleads. Fine whatever. I've taken it before and I'll take it again. Obviously I'm only needed when Blake is not around..But I shouldn't blame her. She's not in her right mind. But I wont let him try to take advantage of her either..

"Dude, seriously..just let her relax for a little while..let her sober up..c'mon..she's gonna get sick.." I stand up and attempt to get through to Blake without us fighting.

"She can take care of herself! Don't you have somewhere to be?"Blake furiously scolds.

"I'm ok, Dustin.. I'm ok.." Tori giggles.

"See! Lets go Tor." Blake says leading her out of the room.

"Fine...whatever.." I say as Blake slams the door, leaving me alone in Tori's dark room. My fists clench on their own...I want to kill him right now. And I could. But I won't. Fine, she doesn't want my help..then fine...I give up...a tear falls down my cheek and I wipe it away with a sniffle and a sigh. Screw this! I walk out of the room into the mass of faceless people. I make my way into the kitchen where I last left my friends.

"There he is!!" Hunter announces. Marah, Ivette and some random chick clap and whistle.

"Um..ok..hi.." I giggle. Sure, whatever..

"More!!!" Hunter hands me another shot glass. "Yeah, we killed the tequila! Sorry bro...have some vodka!"

"You guys are crazy.." I laugh, taking the glass and downing it.

"That's right!!" Hunter laughs. Ivette wraps her arms around me and laughs.

I know I should stop and chill...I have this feeling...something telling me to stop, but I cant..... I want to have fun.. forget everything...blank out..pass out....

Fuck it...


	22. The storm keeps on twisting

Oh....

My head....

Is...

Killing me!!!!

Ooohhh...this is the part that I hate the most. I rub my eyes, holding my head in one hand. Where the hell am I? Oh, dude.... I'm on the floor, in my room, next to my bed. What the hell am I doing on the floor? Ok.. this is weird.. damn! My temples are pounding!! Dude!! Suddenly, I feel an arm wrap around me..

What? Why am I totally not wearing any clothes?? Dude...where are my clothes? Oh..this is bad....this is not good... I lift the blanket to get a look at who is next to me, all over me.

"Ivette?" I whisper to the blurry, but beautiful naked girl next to me. She lets out a little moan and grabs me tighter. Oh....my.....God... My eyes open wider than they've ever opened. No way!!!! No fucking way!!! I start to nervously look around the room. Why is Shane passed out on my bed with Vanessa??? Why?? Awe, dude..he could've at least put a blanket over himself...gross!

"Marah???" I turn and stare in disbelief at the girl next to me. And it's Marah!! It is so Marah!! Oh fuck! What did I do?? Where's Ivette?? Oh my God, where's Tori?? Oh God, I don't remember anything! This is not good. The apartment is quiet..too quiet...and I'm afraid to get up...

I carefully peel Marah's arm from around me, our naked flesh sticking to each other. I slowly, without waking her, free myself from the blanket and stand up, totally in my birthday suit! Dammit!!! This dizzy, head pounding, oh shit-I'm-about-to-hurl-my-brains-out feeling hits me like a speeding train. Oh this sucks! And where are my boxers? Oh, well.... I carefully step over Marah and reach into my boxer drawer. Slowly, quietly, not to wake anyone. Don't want them to see my bare ass in the air, thank you very much. It's bad enough Shane's hangin' out all over the place.. I grab the darkest, most unrevealing pair I own and slip them on. I look around my room for Ivette, or anyone else, but there's no one else in here..

I slowly open the door and just as slowly, walk out of my room and gently close the door behind me...

"Congratulations!!!!!" Cam's voice echoes throughout the dead apartment, scaring the shit out of me, "You're the first one to wake up!!" Cam pauses "Well, aside from me, of course.."

I spin around and stare at my green friend like I've just seen a ghost.

"Want some?" Cam holds a mug of coffee in the air.

"N-No thanks." I say, standing against the door to my room in my navy blue and yellow boxer shorts. Navy blue and yellow, huh.......what a shitty combination... I look around and notice cups, chips and bodies scattered all over the living room floor. Bodies, but none of them are Tori...or Ivette....or Blake...or Hunter...

"Yeah...if these people are your friends, D," Cam lifts one eyebrow and shakes his head, "I feel sorry for you."

"Dude, so you're really just sitting here, with all these passed out people all around you?" I ask, fighting my urge to vomit all over the place.

"Well, gee, is that what you conclude from your observation? Is that your final answer? What does it look like??" Cam sarcastically speaks, seemingly as unhappy with his surroundings as me.

"Well, dude, I was just...you know..it's just kinda creepy, if you ask me.." I slightly giggle, "Oh and by the way, these people are not my friends, bro. I don't know who the hell they are.."

"Well, for the record I didn't ask you, and.." Cam looks up at me and smiles before sipping his coffee, "That's good to know."

That horrible, sick, emotional feeling is tearing me apart right along with that horrible, sick, physical feeling. "Oh this is bullshit!!!" I bark, holding my head.

"Hangover much?" Cam says," Dude, that's what happens..ya know I just don't get people.."

"Dude, I am so stupid!"

"Ah, realization of the ever present obvious!" Cam laughs. "Just kidding."

I look at Cam. I always kinda wished that I could be like him. Smart like him. Then I wouldn't have this nasty hangover..or this aching heart...

"What a night...what a night.." Cam shakes his head sipping his coffee some more.

"Dude, that coffee looks black." I say.

"That's because it is, Dustin...wow....you did get smarter, huh?" Sarcasm always. Same old Cam.

"What happened last night?" I ask.

"Well, being that yours truly was the only sober one of the entire party last night, that is a question I can answer...that is, of course, if you really want to know.." Cam smirks.

"Oh...God.." I sigh.. "Do I really wanna know?"

"Hey, you asked.. I don't ever have to speak of last night ever again...but I'm sure you've already realized that you did have sex with my cousin. That's #1." Cam says, bringing the mug up to his lips.

I grunt, grabbing at my hair...Uuuuuggghhh!!!! Why did I – Oh dammit!! This is bad....this is so bad...

"Oh...dude...this is beyond bad....this is....so...bad!!!" I panic.

"Oh...it gets so much worse.." Cam assures.

"Tell me what happened, Cam.." I say, walking over the mess, stepping over random bodies. I plop on the opposite end of the couch facing Cam.

"Dude.." Cam..or...Cyber Cam...says making an uneasy face, "Can you put some clothes on?"

"Just tell me!" I bark.

"Oh, alright already!" Cam places his mug of black coffee onto the table.

"Where's Ivette?" I ask.

"I'll get to that.." Cam starts. I sit, nervous as all hell...please don't tell me that Tori slept with anyone, please...Oh dude, please... "Ok..so...lets see...and these events may not be in any direct order...um...so we played spin the bottle...and let me tell you...it was becoming a task to keep you and Blake from each other.."

"What?????" What? He doesn't mean..."Oh no!!" I cover my face with a pillow.

"I didn't even say anything yet." Cam laughs, "So, Blake and Tori made out, like, finally, in front of all of us and you completely had a major shit fit. Luckily, you were too drunk to do much so we basically killed that situation..we all just tried to keep the both of you away from each other and preoccupied...boy did you get preoccupied..ahem..but anyway...."

"What? What's that supposed to mean??" I bark.

"Just listen! Oh! And on top of all the straight liquor you had, you smoked an entire blunt to the face, which is totally illegal, and in my opinion, way too much drugs for one person, but in the delinquent idiot category, you, by far, take home the gold...actually come to think of it..this entire party was 'illegal'...wow...I feel like I'm stuck in a really bad teen movie..." Cam sighs, shaking his head. I just stare blankly at him, like WTF?? He continues, "But, that is way off subject...so, anyway..you basically made out with everyone...With an exception of me – so don't get it twisted – Tori, Blake, Shane...um...some dude ..well anyway...you get the picture.." Cam pauses.. " But wait...there is a name that I hadn't mentioned in the excluding list..." Cam starts to laugh, "Dude, you and Hunter were all over each other!!!"

"What?" No way!! Dammit! I wish I could've been sober for that! Or at least remember it...

"Yes, my friend, you and the crimson one totally went at it...I'm surprised you two didn't wake up next to each other... Tori really enjoyed that part..actually all the girls liked that a little too much..you know, D, when you drink, you're like a horny little girl..it's rather amusing." Cam laughs.

"Dude! This is so not funny!" I scold. I feel like shit. I feel disgusting.

"Sorry..ok...so...to make a long story short, Shane screwed Vanessa, you got head from a very drunk Ivette but, you had sex with my cousin..Tori and Blake both passed out so, I honestly don't know what happened there..and – don't go postal on this ok..."

"Oh no.." I brace myself...but I think I already know.

"Hunter and Ivette..yeah.." Cam picked up his mug and took a huge gulp.

I swallowed hard, my heart, my stomach, and my head in all kinds of knots and twists. Hunter and Ivette? Oh man... I know, I know... I said I didn't want to like her.. and I said I didn't care.. but it hurts... I care..and this all sucks so much...

"Um...all the way?" I ask, in denial of all this obvious around me.

"Sorry, Dustin." Cam's voice seems genuinely sympathetic. And I'm feeling way sick now.

"Dude, I'm gonna hurl!" I run, making my way to the bathroom.

"Dustin, wait! You don't wanna –"Cam had tried to warn me that Ivette and Hunter were passed out together on the bathroom floor. Seeing that, made it worse.

Somehow, I leap over them and vomit my insides out into the toilet. I fall over onto the floor, my head against the bowl. My whole body hurts.. inside and out...Oh, here it comes again... I quickly jolt up and hurl some more..this time, flushing.

Cam suddenly appears, standing in the doorway, "You okay?" He softly asks.

"Fine....thanks Cam." I say, swallowing the disgusting taste of vomit.

"You sure?" Cam asks again.

"I just wanna forget this whole thing." I say, pulling myself up again to continue to hurl my brains out.

"Forgotten." Cam says.


	23. Even if it hurts me

She fixed herself a bowl of Raisin Bran and sat on the couch. The other end of the couch from where I sat. I followed her with my eyes until she glanced over at me. She rolled her blue eyes and quickly looked away. What was that for? We both sit, watching T.V. Or more like, just staring at the screen. Our minds, somewhere else. Well, at least my mind sure isn't here.

Since this afternoon, she hasn't said one word to me. Since everyone picked their helpless, hungover, shit-faced bodies up and left our apartment, she barely looked at me. Even when I left to drive people home, she ignored me when I told her I'd be right back.

And now, here we are, alone in our newly clean apartment. Me and Tori. And I still don't know everything that happened last night. But from what I do know, I am so confused. Ashamed, confused and gross is more like it. Tori seems mad at me. She seems like shes still way angry from our argument we so lovingly had yesterday when I got home from work. I guess no amount of drugs or alchohol can truly erase your problems. They actually only make shit a hell of a lot worse...

I sigh, looking over at Tori curled up with her cereal. Her hair, in two braids. She's wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue pajama bottoms. Her tiny toes, wiggling. I clear my throat. She looks over at me.... We lock eyes...who's gonna talk first? Are we just gonna sit here and stare at each other?

"So, you're not gonna talk to me?" I find the words and force them out. Tori stares at me blankly. She places her half eaten cereal onto the coffee table. "I guess not." I say, looking down at my feet.

"What do you want me to say?" Her voice, low and shakey. Tori seems weird. I can't tell if she's mad or sad. If she hates me or loves me. I don't get her at all anymore... I hate this....

"Anything, Tor...just say anything." I plead.

Tori shakes her head, "Look... I don't know...ok....this is just...weird.."

"Well.." I start to speak but I don't know what to say. I don't know exactly what she's talking about...Oh man, I hope she didn't sleep with Blake...

"Dustin.. things happened last night.." Tori says, staring me down.

"Yeah.. I know.."

"Do you regret any of it?" Tori asks "'Cuz you should!"

Do I regret Marah? Yes. Do I regret passing out? No.

"Yes. I regret all of it." I say. I want to ask her what happened with her and Blake, but I don't want to fight with her. Not again. Not after all that's happened. Tori sniffles a little. I look over at her to make sure she's ok. She looks like she's fighting back tears.

"Dustin.." She says, sounding way upset. .." You know...since we've known each other....and we've known each other almost our whole lives...we've done some dumb, crazy things." Tori pauses. "But nothing like this. I've never seen you act that way before.. I mean, I've seen you drunk...even a little high..but...never..that....loose.."

I swallow hard. I can't tell if she wants to kill me or give me a hug. Or both. "Um..Man... I feel like such an idiot. I'm not too fond of myself right now." I say with my head down. If she's mad at me, maybe I can let her know how much I know I suck and she'll understand.

"That's good." She nods "'Cuz I'm not too fond of you, either."

"I understand."

"Do you really?" Tori's voice grows angry, "I don't think you honestly understand what you did... I mean, do you really get it? Has it sunken in yet??"

I'm speechless. How do I explain myself? Especially if I don't remember anything that happened... "I ...I'm sorry.. I "

"Don't say sorry to me..say sorry to yourself! And to Marah!" Tori scolds.

"Why should I say sorry to Marah?" I ask, defensively. Why should I?? She's an evil, two-timing bitch who fucked me, so I just fucked her back!

Tori's lips curl into a look of disgust , "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"You know.... If I were you, I'd be shitting in my pants right now!" Tori is defending Marah? I don't get this... What is she talking about? First she sticks up for Blake and now this chick? I don't understand her. The more I feel for her, the more she seems to hate me and side with my enemies.

"What are you saying? I'm lost Tori....can you just tell me what's going on!"

"Dustin!! You were picking fights with Blake all night, for one thing. And you should be worried as fuck because of the huge careless mistake you made of having drunken unprotected sex with an ex you can't stand! Do you even know how many guys she's been with?? Do you even know if she has any diseases?? No!! And now not only do you have to worry about being fatally sick and dying of an STD, but there is a really big thing called pregnancy!! But, I guess you also failed to think about that one too, huh?"

I sit. Silent. Scared. Ashamed. And she's right. I didn't think about all of that. I can't be forever tied to Marah!! No way!! I mean it's bad enough that I actually got laid and don't even remember it! And now I have to worry about all the consequences...

"You have nothing to say?" Tori asks, waiting for me to tell her what a huge dick I am. What a fool I am.

I look at her, ashamed of myself, "Tori.. you are absolutely right. I suck. I'm a big jerk. I'm sorry."

"Dustin, I did not say that!" Tori barks.

"But I'm saying it. I wanted to forget everything. I wanted to have a good time. I took it too far...and I don't even remember any of it! But, I wish I would've just stayed at Ivette's house. None of this would've happened.." I look at Tori with glassy eyes.

"Who is this Ivette chick?" Annoyed, Tori asks.

"A girl I met at work."

"You like her?" Tori asks.

"She's nice. She's a friend." And that's the truth. She is just a friend.

"So, she's basically just a friend that sucks your dick...ok... I get it.." Tori sarcastically scolds, rolling her eyes. My jaw drops. What is wrong with her?

"Tori that is not right!"

"No, it really isn't! Why are you acting like this?"

"Tori! I was wasted beyond belief! Dude, I wasn't in my right mind, ok! What part of I don't fucking remember anything don't you understand?" I raise my voice at her. Oh no... I don't wanna fight again...

"I was wasted too! But I knew what I was doing! You're just careless and its wrong!" Tori yells.

"What? Tori, why are you gigging on me? You're acting just like Blake!"

"I am not!! Forgive me for being upset because my best friend is being a promiscuous, alchoholic, slut, man-whore, drug addict!!!"

"Are you for real?" I cant help but laugh. "Tori, why are you being like this?"

"It's not funny, Dustin!" Tori angrily yells. I can't take the yelling anymore...

"Look, Tori.." I calmly speak, "Can we talk about this without screaming at each other. Please."

Tori sighs, "Look... I'm sorry for totally ganging up on you and yelling....but...I'm mad at you, ok!" Tori lowers her voice and sighs again, "Dustin, this is crazy ok....You are way too good to just give your body away. That's gross!"

"Tori..you act like I sleep with so many people on a daily basis." I laugh.

"Well..do you?" Tori asks, her eyes wide. She's so beautiful....

"What?? No!! Are you serious?" I laugh harder.

"What's so funny?" Tori's voice is soft and low.

"Tor, when would I even have time to bang all these chicks?" I continue to laugh.

"Well, how do I know what you do when you leave the house...and while I'm at work..who knows!" Tori cracks a smile watching me topple over in laughter.

"Tori, it is not that serious at all! I've only slept with two people. And that's including last night....which I don't even remember." I spill the virginal beans of my non-existant sex life.

"Really?" Tori smiles.

"Yes!" I laugh, "I haven't had sex since I was 16..wait, no....17. Yeah, I lost my virginity when I was 16. Dude, those were the days.... I mean, they weren't...but they so were..." I smile thinking about how it felt to be inside of a girl for the very first time...Oh, yeah..

"You mean this whole time you've only been with Euyi?" Tori hops closer to me, grinning.

I sigh, "Yeah. I don't just go out and bang chicks..you should know that's not me. I have to have feelings for a girl to be with her like that. I mean don't get me wrong, I think about it all the time, but..."

"Awe, Dustin!! You're so sweet!" Tori smiles, mushing my shoulder.

I roll my eyes, "Well, I'm not sour!" I laugh, "Just a little ditzy.."

"A little ditzy is not a problem!" Tori is permanently smiling at me now. I meet her gaze and look away quickly. I start to feel all shy again..Oh man..

"Yeah, but it sure doesn't attract anyone either." I say. The room grows quiet. Tori bites her bottom lip.

"Hey.." She breaks the loud silence.

"Yeah?" I find the courage to look at her. Her skin is so smooth..Oh dude.. my mind wanders to her warm place...

Tori sighs, "So, do you think.. I mean..." She struggles with her words.

"Do I think what?"

"If we were stranded on a deserted island.....well.....would you be able to have sex with me?" Tori nervously asks. I choke on my air.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Tori jumps over to me and taps my back, "Look up...it helps.." I look up at the bare ceiling while Tori beats on my back. Wow...it did help... I breathe deeply.. I hate these trick questions! Stop playing with my mind! Of course I would make love to her! In a second! I love her so much!

"What?" The only word I force out of my mouth.

"It's just a random question.." Tori waits for my answer.

"Sure..yeah...I would." I nervously blurt.

"So....you said you'd only sleep with a girl if you feel for her....well, that and unless, of course, you're piss drunk." Tori says.

"Um..yeah..that's ...uh...that's what I said.." I stutter.

"So, you feel for me?" Tori is staring at me. I feel her eyes burning right through me. What do I say to that? Do I tell her the truth? My heart is pounding right along with the butterflies in my stomach. I can't look at her...

"Um... I care about you." I confess. But she knows that.

"You do?" Tori leans closer to me.

"Of course I do, Tor. You know that." I say, her body close next to me.

"Dustin.." Tori's eyes still studying me.

"Uh..huh.."

"If the world were to end right here and now...at this very moment...I wouldn't be afraid."

"And why is that?" I ask, glancing at her. She's staring deeply into my eyes. As hard as I try, I can't look away.

"Because...I'm here with you." She whispers into my ear. Shivers run down my spine, feeling her warm breath against my skin, "And I know you will protect me."

I close my eyes and swallow hard. My instinct tells me to hold her. And I wrap my arms around the girl that I love and sigh. "You know I will. Always." I whisper to her.

I feel her sigh. She smiles and turns to look at me as I brush a stray lock of hair from her face. We both study each others faces. I slowly find myself leaning closer to her. She doesn't hesitate. We slowly inch our faces closer. Closer.Oh my God...Oh my God....My heart is about to explode as our lips are about to touch...

"Oh man, last night was nuts!!!" Shane walks in, slamming the door behind him.

Me and Tori quickly pull away from each other. Dammit Shane! I want to strangle him right now! I want to kill him!! Dude...

Tori uncomfortably fixes herself as she moves away from me. Shane must have caught on because he suddenly grew way quiet.

"Yeah...it really was." Tori says, her cheeks red.

"Dude..you know...um... I think I'm just gonna go make something to eat." Shane says pointing to the kitchen.

"No, wait!" Tori jumps up "I'll do it! Yeah, I was just about to make some mac and cheese! Yup!" She quickly moves into the kitchen. Leaving me and Shane staring at each other, confused, with nothing but the faint sound of the T.V. and Tori wrestling with the pots and cabinets.

"Ok...what was that?" Shane asks, sitting down , "Dude...did I interrupt something?" He brings his voice to a whisper. I shrug, not sure what to make of this whole situation. "Dude, were you about to kiss her?" Shane asks, grinning.

What do I say? Oh my God... I was about to kiss her... I almost kissed her.. and she was so leaning in to kiss me back! My heart is still beating a mile a minute.

"I think so." I smile, shrugging.

"Dude, I told you..did you tell her?" Shane smacks my arm.

"No.. I can't." I whisper.

"Dustin! You're insane! I'm telling you somethings up..and you'll let it slip if you don't make a move." Shane's so right, but I just don't know. She's too good for someone like me. She's just so smart..and logical..and amazingly beautiful....she just... I know she won't....and I can't deal with her saying no. My heart can't take it...

"Bro, it was just a moment. Some freak accidental chemistry. She probably thought I was Blake or something." I can't get my hopes up...

"You really need to get out of this whole denial thing, bro. For real." Shane sits back, resting his head. He looks over at me , "Dude, I think she might need help in there.."

I throw him a death glare and slightly shake my head. Butterflies – as usual, "Nah, dude, I –"

"If you don't get your ass in there!!!" Shane threatens.

"Ok..Ok..." I stand up and take a deep breath. I fix my shirt and boxers to make sure nothings poking out. Looking back at Shane, I make my way into the kitchen. I slide in as nonchalantly as ever. "Hey....you need help?" I force the words out.

Tori looks up at me, smiling, "Sure."

Feeling a slight bit of relief, I walk over to her. She has a pot of water on the stove heating up. Next to it on the counter are two boxes of Shells And Cheese. I'm guessing I'm not much of a help because the both of us stand, staring at the pot of water. This tension is nuts...

"You know.. my mom always used to say, a watched pot never boils," I blurt, "Or something like that." I crack a smile feeling random and ridiculously retarded.

Tori giggles, "It is somewhat true if you think about it."

"I guess..." Uh...that's all you say, Dustin? Weak...

Tori turns to me, "I'm sorry." She pauses. "But I'm not. Does that make sense?"

"Um..."

"You know what, just forget it...it's nothing anyway, right?"

"Well..uh.."

"Yeah...nevermind.." Tori turns to the bubbling pot, "See! I turn away and it starts to boil!" She quickly changes the subject.

"Yeah I see." I feel like a truck slammed into me head on. She brushes it off like its nothing, but its so much to me. And as much as I want to, I'm too afraid to bring it up. If she wont bring it up, then obviously she can care less. I guess, its not affecting her like it is me... Tori pours in the macaroni and stirs.

"Well.. is there anything I can do?" I ask.

"You hungry?" Tori smirks.

"A little." I say, patting my stomach.

Tori laughs, "Then you can eat!"

"Sounds good to me." I cover up the fact that all I want to do is hold her right now... I wonder what would've happened if Shane hadn't walked in... I walk over to the cupboard and pull out 3 bowls. And three forks from the drawer.

"Handyman!" Tori winks.

"Well, you know..that is what I do... I'm good with my hands." Realizing my comment, me and Tori stare at each other, our cheeks turning bright red. "Um.. I mean... my hands are good only when it comes to fixing bikes..yeah.." Why do I even talk? I should just never talk again!

Tori quietly walks over to the sink to drain the macaroni. When she's done, she walks back over to the stove and starts to mix in the cheese. "You have....amazing hands.." Tori sighs, mixing the pot. She looks up at me .. "And....really nice fingers.." Smiling, she quickly looks down at the mac and cheese. Her skin blushing, right along with mine.

"Thanks." I say, feeling like a man. Like I accomplished something.

Tori looks up at me, uncontrollably smiling. Not saying a word, she serves the three of us. Handing me my bowl, she grabs hers and Shanes , "Now lets eat before Shane has a baby in there!" We laugh as we walk into the living room. Tori completely forgetting about her Raisin Bran...


	24. A pleasant interruption

A/N: Hey all! Just in case you were wondering, i changed my pen name..but its still me, disgustin dustin...And by the way, in case i spelled Toris last name wrong, i apologize..its just, i didnt want her to have the same spelling as those damn hanson dudes...lol...sorry if anyone is a fan...well anyway..enough blabbing...so after this chapter, we hit the final chapters and the craziness....like if u think whats happened so far is nutts..just wait...thanks for the reviews...you guys rock! and im really thinking on a sequel to this one..let me know what u think.... btw..sorry if there are mondo mistakes and type-o's in this chapter...i was too lazy to proofread...

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It's been a week since the party , and Tori is so right. I am shitting in my pants... I mean, I know in my heart that Marah doesn't have any diseases, but I still got tested anyway...for Tori. Marah said she'd take a pregnancy test but she thinks its too early to tell. Whatever...she knows more than I do. I really pray that she isn't pregnant. I'm getting the vibe from her that she's hoping she is. She's getting a bit too comfortable with the fact that I've been talking to her again. She already asked if we can start over. Give us another chance. I hate to be an asshole, but I really can't do that. I can't give her another chance, no way! Even if she turns out pregnant and decides to keep it, I'll be a father to our baby, but no way in hell will I be with her. I just don't trust her. At all. She's beautiful, funny – but no! I don't trust her. Plus, the biggest reason – she's not Tori Hansen. And to be honest, the same goes for Ivette. And since the party, me and Ivette agreed that we can't be mad at each other for what happened. I still feel really weird about it all. Sometimes I feel embarrassed talking to Ivette. Especially because I don't remember any of it...

Hunter feels so bad and as much as I tell him I don't care and I'm not mad at all, he still apologizes.

Blake and I don't even bother to speak to each other at all. He has his problems with me and I just don't want him around Tori for obvious reasons. Speaking of Tori...

I don't know what s going on with her... it's like, one minute she's mad at me. The next minute, she's flirting with me. She says things, sometimes, that make me feel like she's hinting at something. But once again, I know its all in my head. I just stay quiet and enjoy her company. As long as we're not fighting. And when we're alone, there seems to be so much tension. I know its because of the little things that happened between us since we moved in together. The physical incidents. The ones I was sworn never to bring up ever again. Dude, that's all I think about. I lay in bed at night and replay the image of me next to her, touching her. I am such a perv! But with good reason!

I am so tired of wondering what's going on..but I'm way too afraid to ask. I mean, if she was any other girl and not my best friend, it would be a lot easier. Things like this change everything...and I don't want to lose her..but I want to be with her more than anything. I just know I'd hit an all time low if she rejects me...

I never thought in a million years that I could ever hurt more than I did when Euyi left, until I fell for Tori. I feel like she has my heart dangling from a yo-yo string, and oh dude, she sure is good at oooohh-ing and aaaahhh-ing the crowd with her tricks....

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"You know..." I grab my jacket and throw it on .."There is no better feeling than freedom!"

"Yeah, yeah...so, you get to leave earlier because of me...you should thank me dude!" Shane rolls his eyes with a smirk.

"It works out great, I leave when you come in... hey, thanks man!" I grin. I love Storm Chargers to death, but, man I am so worked!

Shane starts to work on the daily shipment. I stand next to him smiling, my hands at my hips.

"Dude, why are you still here?" Shane laughs.

"True..um...yeah, so I'm gonna go enjoy the rest of my day.. oh man this is great! And it's still light outside too!" I grab my backpack.

"So what's on the agenda? Are you and Tori gonna try new ways to be indenial?" Shane blurts.

"Huh? Whatever dude!" I blush.

"Dustin, you two are ridiculous! Just get it over with!"

"We aren't having this conversation, right now.." I smile, walking towards the exit.

"So, where you going?" Shane asks, stopping me in my tracks.

"I'm gonna go up to Pac Sun and meet Tori for her lunch break." I say. I know what's coming next....

"Dude..you know...I'm not even gonna say another word!" Shane shakes his head, "Have fun!"

I wave him off, shaking my head as I walk out the door, to my car.

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As I walk into Pacific Sunwear, I scan the store for blonde hair..Woah...lots of blondes in here, huh? Oh, there she is. Tori is off in the corner, folding shirts. She seems off in her own little world. She looks so cute wearing her little name tag. I get nervous as I walk over to her. She doesn't notice me, with her head down deep into what she's doing.

"Excuse me, do you have this pink tank top in a size medium?" I playfully ask.

She looks up at me and smiles. "Pink is so not your color!" She laughs. She places the folded shirt on the display and hugs me. "I'll be right back." She quickly takes her name tag off and runs towards the back of the store, where her boss is helping a customer with shoes.

"Hey can I help you?" A brunette with olive skin asks. She looks way familiar.

"Um.. I'm here for Tori." I say, reading her name tag. 'Marissa'. Oh! Now I know..

"Oh! Duh! You're Dustin! I was at the party! You were really funny!" She laughs.

"Yeah.." I don't like to think about that night.

Just then, Tori appears next to her. "Ready?" She asks, holding her bag.

"Always." I say. We smile and wave at Marissa as we walk out of the store and into the mall. "You wanna stay here, or.." I suggest. Anything she wants, she gets. With me, anyway.

"Um..we might as well stay. I only get a half hour. Blah!" Tori sticks her tongue out. I put my arm around her shoulders. She looks up at me and smiles, as we walk to the food court and look around.

"Whatever you want. It's on me." I say.

"Well, since you put it that way." She giggles, "I'll take a nice, big, juicy salad!"

"Are you serious?" A look of disgust takes over my face.

"Yes! And you should eat one too! All that junk you eat is not good for you!" Tori scolds, pulling me towards 'Subway".

"Yuck, dude! Maybe I eat junk because I'm trying to gain some weight." I pout.

"Well, you'll have a heart attack before you even gain one pound...not good...so you're getting a salad with me!" If Tori says I'm getting a salad, then I'm getting a salad. Tori orders for the both of us and I pay the man. We pick a small table to sit at and eat. Tori digs right into her baby spinach and chicken salad. I sit, picking at mine. Boo! This is nasty! I need a cheeseburger....

"Thank you for lunch." Tori smiles.

"Anytime." I pick up a leaf of spinach and study it.

"Oh, just eat it!" Tori yells.

I stab a forkful and shove it in my mouth. Not so bad... "This is pretty good!" I say.

"Told ya!"

"Yeah...you did." I take notice, once again, how beautiful she is. Her eyes are so blue. Her skin, so smooth and fair. Her long silky, natural blonde hair...

"You ok?" Tori breaks my day dream, "Is there something in my teeth?"

"No, No...sorry.. I kinda dazed for a second." Dammit! I was staring at her again..

"You're really funny, sometimes." She eats a forkful of her salad.

I sip my soda, "Yeah."

We continue to eat and drink. Talk and laugh. Man, I wish I can call her my girlfriend. Hold her hand. Kiss her lips. Tell her what I feel.

"Hey, look at that.. my break is up..dammit!" Tori looks at her cell phone. She stands up and I do the same, taking our trays and emptying them into the trash bins. "Thank you." Tori smiles.

"You're not welcome at all." I joke. Tori smacks my arm. I lightly smack her back as we walk back to her job.

"I had fun on our little lunch date...you should do this more often!" She laughs. We stand in front of Pac Sun. I want to kiss her. But that's all the time....nothing new..

"I should...and I will." I smile, warmly, looking into her eyes.

Tori opens her mouth as if she's going to say something but quickly shrugs it off. With a sigh, she glances into her store, "Well, I better get back."

"Yeah.. I wish you didn't have to...We could go hit the track!" Aahh...Tori in motocross gear..sexy..

"Or the beach! I need to go surfing, badly!" Tori says. Aaahh...Tori in a string bikini...even better...

"Ok then...This week...we'll do both!" I excitedly blurt.

"Sweet deal. I'll see you at home."

"Can't wait.." Uugghh! Why did I say that? "I mean...to go surfing.."

"Sure." Tori's face lights up, "Me neither." She turns to walk into Pac Sun, leaving me staring at her. "Later." I call out to her, nervously.

"Can't wait." She winks back at me.

I turn to walk away, a huge smile across my face. I think I've slipped up enough times for her to think something. Damn me and my stupidness! Well, I'll go home now and take a nap..if I can sleep...


	25. This moment we both ignore the truth

The sun shines bright. The track is perfect. But I'm not here to ride. No bike. No gear. And no one else is around at all. Odd.

"You and me have some unfinished business!!" A voice rings in the air. I turn to see Blake standing in front of me now. A blanket of wrath wraps itself around me.

"Lets do this!" I say, confident "Ninja Storm!"

"Thunder Storm!"

"Ranger Form! Ha!" We both cry out, full of emotion, as we morph. God this feeling is indescribable. And man, it feels good.

"So we end this...today!" The Navy Thunder Ranger scolds.

"We fight 'til there's only one of us left standing. 'Til the death!" I scream, drawing my sword.

"Maybe you should save yourself the trouble and say your last words now, old friend!" Blake wails, drawing his Thunder Staff.

"That's not gonna be necessary!" I lunge at him. Blake begins to run at me ready to attack.....

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"Wake up sleepy head!"

"Tori? What are you doing here? Get out of here! You're gonna get hurt!" I yell. Tori shakes me.

"Dustin! Wake up! You're dreaming!"

"Huh? What?" My eyes slowly gain focus. What? Woah...dude that was sick...

"You were dreaming." Tori smiles down at me. I must have fallen asleep on the couch at some point.

"You're home already?" I'm so confused.

"Dustin, it's 10:30 at night!" She laughs, "Wake up and keep me company!"

I lay, my arms over my eyes. That dream was intense..it felt way too real. Way too real.. I peek over at Tori. She's smiling at me with her hands on her hips. I sigh, closing my eyes. Every time I see her, my heart rejoices and breaks into a million sad little pieces all at the same time. Suddenly, I feel warmth against my chest. Startled, I open my eyes to see Tori kneeling beside me, her head resting on my chest. I touch her soft, blonde hair. She turns her head to look at me.

"Your heart is beating really fast." She whispers, closing her eyes. She looks so innocent and pure....and beautiful. Right now, in this moment, I feel something more. Something more from her. I run my fingers through her hair. She softly smiles, her eyes still closed. Just then, my cell phone rings. Startled, Tori jumps up.

"Oh, man! That scared me!" She holds her hand to her chest.

"Awe.." I smile, sitting up on the couch. Shane's calling. I answer, "And how can I help you sir?"

"Dude?"

"Shane??" I sarcastically ask.

"Dude!! Hey man, you home?" Shane asks, sounding way distracted.

"Yes." I say, smiling at Tori as she imitates Shane's yapping with her hand.

"Tori's home?"

"Yeah, she's home. Why dude? You okay?"

"Oh yeah.... I just wanted to let ya'll know that I wont be coming home tonight." I hear a grin in Shane's voice.

"Really? Spill it.." I say. Tori jumps up onto the couch and leans in, putting her ear to the phone.

"I'm staying at 'Nessa's tonight.. hehehe.." Shane cackles.

"Oooohhh!!!" Tori steals the phone from me, "You're a bad boy, Shane!!" She laughs.

"Wow..you sure are in a good mood today, girl!" Shane sounds shocked, from where I'm sitting. Tori, laughing, hands me the phone. She starts to poke me in the stomach.

"Dude...you have fun...safe fun.." I say, distracted by Tori's finger. I poke her back, but she only pokes harder. My eyes widen as I look at her.

"You know it, dude! I'll see ya tomorrow!" Shane says. I can hear Vanessa's voice in the background.

"No doubt. Goodnight, man."

"Goodnight. Hey, tell Tor I said goodnight too."

"Of course."

"Later." Shane giggles.

"Peace."

-click-

"Wow.. I think they really like each other." Tori says, throwing her legs on my lap.

"Yeah..they do." And I really like you. I rest my hands on her legs. Tori sighs, wiggling her cute little toes.

"I'm so giddy today, huh?" She asks, smiling.

"Yeah, you really are!" I laugh, "I think it's cute." Our eyes meet again. She looks away, quickly.

"So what's going on with the whole Marah deal? Did she find anything out yet?"

"Not yet. She said she's gonna wait a week. Ya know, see if she misses her monthly buddy first. Or whatever you guys call it." I stick out my tongue in disgust.

"Well, that's smart." Tori nods. "What are you gonna do if she is?" Tori sighs, looking up at me.

"I don't know. Take care of it, I guess. I mean definitely." I do not wantto talk about this.

Tori looks down at her hands, "You know....Marah still likes you. A lot."

"That's fine. She can still like me all she wants." I bark. Is it wrong to just not give a shit? I don't think so..

"Would you give her a second chance?" Tori asks.

"No."

"Oh.." Tori's mood suddenly seems to change. She's not as happy go lucky as she was just 5 minutes ago.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothings wrong..Why would anything be wrong?" Tori defends.

"I dunno...you got kinda quiet." I rub her bare legs. She's wearing blue shorts with a matching top. She must have changed her clothes while I was fighting Blake...

"I wanna show you something." Tori blurts. She gets up and runs into her bedroom, closing the door. I sit, confused, in silence, alone on the couch. What is she doing in there? About 3 minutes later, she walks out of her room wearing a blue leopard print string bikini. Her hair is down and slightly tossled. Oh...my....God.....

I swallow hard, my thoughts racing. My eyes study every inch of her visible flesh, only imagining what she looks like underneath the small pieces of fabric. I know a slight taste of what she feels like...

"Well...what are you waiting for?" She says, standing there. Intoxicating me. What does she mean? What am I waiting for? I don't get it... I mean, I know what I want her to mean..but...no...she can't mean that! Dude! Can she? Does she?

"Uh... I'm not sure... what...uh.." I lost my words along with my train of thought. Along with my regular breathing and heart rate.

"Go put on your swimming shorts!" She laughs. Does she know what she is putting me through right now? Very cruel...very, very...cruel..

"Ok." I run to my room and quickly rummage through my drawers to find my yellow shorts. Got 'em! I strip down to my birthday suit and slip my shorts on as fast as I can. I run out to where Tori is, but she's not there.

I hear running water. Slowly, I sneak over into the bathroom. There she is, bending over the tub, running the water. I lean against the door, mesmerized by her body...her curves...her ass is perfect...her strong thighs....

"I know you're there, Dustin." She says, "Come here."

I walk over to her, closing the door behind me. She grabs my hand and leads me into the tub with her. I don't know exactly what's going on here, but I am not complaining...No way...

Here we are. Sitting in the tub, facing each other. The water is not too cold. Not too warm. Perfect temperature. The tub is less than half full, and the water is still running. Tori holds her hand under the running water.

"This sounds really stupid, but..." She starts to speak ..."Sometimes I sit here and just, well, hang out with the water. Befriend it. You know?"

"That's not stupid. Not at all." Still entranced, I'm staring at her. Hard. Taken aback more than I've ever been by her insane beauty.

"Yeah, kinda....it's so tap water! Ha!" She laughs.

"It's more than that." I place my hand with hers, underneath the running faucet.

"Here...watch this.." She takes my hands in hers and closes her eyes "Close your eyes." She says. Ishutthem, slightly. I can't stop looking at her. She's deep in concentration. Her face like stone. She squeezes my hands, crinkling her brow. Then,a slight grin finds its way on her face. Suddenly, the water starts to move around us. Like fluttering waves. Tori opens her eyes, smiling brighter than ever as the water tickles our skin. She squints in deep concentration, smirking. Just then, the faucet handle slowly turns on its own causing the water to stop running. Another big smile from the most amazing girl in the world as I sit confused, but way too happy to care...Suddenly, a burst of raining water falls on us, as the shower turns on.

"Oh, shit!" I blurt, laughing.

"Hehehehe!!" Tori giggles, still holding my hands in hers. We are now completely drenched, and showered on..the water still falling onto us in droplets.

"You totally like, did some Ninja magic tricks! Sweet!" I laugh.

"The water and I have an understanding, you can say." She looks amazing wet. But even more so now, than when she's surfing on the beach. She moves up closer to me. We sit, squinting from the water, but managing to keep our eyes locked.

"I mean, i knew you could do that, but.." I pause. "You are...amazing...Tori." I can't help it. So what if I just blew my spot... I don't care at this moment. I'll scream it off of the roof top!

Tori sighs. The water hitting the shower curtain is the only sound heard as Tori's face inches closer to mine. I squeeze her hands slightly, feeling chills throughout every inch of my body. She's like a hot piece of metal and I'm being pulled in closer and closer like a magnet. She releases her right hand from my grip and caresses my drenched face as our lips touch. She hesitates, pulling away slightly. I can't take it anymore! What the hell... I take her face in my hands and bring her in for out first kiss. Our first, real, passionate kiss. She grabs the back of my neck as we make out intensely under the water. She pulls her body in, towards mine. She sits on me, wrapping her legs around my waist. Instantly, my manhood rises and she's right up against it. She lets out a moan, as I poke her. She breathes intensely, between the making out and the moans. She's rubbing herself against me. Our bodies are soaking wet. Our swim suits sticking to us like second skin, leaving no imagination to what's underneath. Tori's hand makes its way inside my shorts. My eyes bulge from my skull as the warmth of her hand firmly wraps around me. Oh God....Oh yes..

"No..no..no..no.." Tori says to herself over and over between kisses and she pulls her hand from me and out of my shorts. No? Dammit...I can't even breathe between the making out and the water and I don't care. I want her more than I've ever wanted anything or anyone right now.

Tori's lips make their way to my neck then move down to my chest. She's kissing me all over as my hands explore her wet flesh. I move my hands from her toned stomach up to her breasts. Her nipples poke through the fabric of her top and I slide my hands underneath, cupping her bare flesh....

"Woah.." I say, quickly realizing that the water started to overflow onto the floor. I turn the faucet off and the water stops. Nothing now but the sound of a single drip. Oh man...the moment.. is broken...now, is where it gets weird..

Tori's eyes are glued to mine. Her skin is flushed and I can't place a single emotion to the look on her face. She's soaked and beautiful, breathing heavily. She's still sitting on me, her legs still around me. I feel her heart racing through her chest, competing with mine. Awkward silence once again. What do I say? I swallow hard, completely turned on to full blast. At least now, I hope Tori has an idea of what she does to me. She shakes her head as she softly kisses my lips. Her hands are holding my face pulling me towards her. She starts to push herself against me, causing our bodies to slip against the side of the tub. I grip my hands firmly around her bottom. She lets out a slight moan into my ear. Oh..dude...

Suddenly, she stops completely and looks at me with a weird face. She separates herself from me and stands up, adjusting her bikini. Without saying a word, she grabs for a towel and runs out of the bathroom, leaving me confused, alone and dripping wet. And not to mention, With a massive boner.

What did I do this time? I get up and follow her, dripping all over the place.

"Tori..." I say, peeking my head into her room. She's sitting on the edge of her bed, wrapped in her towel. She looks like a deer caught in head lights. "You okay?" I walk over to her. I hover next to her and place my hand on her shoulder.

"Dustin..you're dripping all over my bed.." She calmly says.

"Sorry." I step back.

"It's ok.." She says, her eyes looking everywhere else but at me.

I sigh, taking notice of a picture of her and Blake on her mirror. And in an instant – hopes are destroyed...

"Dustin.." Tori giggles. What now? How much more can I possibly suck?

"Yeah.." I sadly speak, looking away from her.

"Your thingy is still at attention." She giggles like a school girl. I'm way too drained to feel embarrassment at the present time. Whatever... I glance down at my shorts. Yeah..so what...

"Sorry." I sigh.

"Don't be sorry." Tori's voice grows serious.

"Well.. I am." I say. What else can I say? I can always tell her the truth. I mean, I don't think I'd be out of line...she did touch my...you know...

Tori sits, wrapped in her towel. She looks up at me. Her eyes, big and glassy.

"What is happening between us, Dustin?" Her voice is soft. She seems confused. Like she's feeling every emotion all at once. Kinda like me. But I can't even tell with her anymore. And what do I say? Oh dude...

"Um.. I .. I don't know." I cross my arms as I stand, still wet, near her door.

"You don't know what's going on..or you don't know how you feel?" She asks. Does she want me to spill my love? Is that it? Maybe she's waiting for me to say something..maybe she's hoping that I wont say anything...

"Both." I lie. But why? Dammit! Why can't I just tell her? I look away. I feel like shit under her shoes. And not because that's how she makes me feel, for the most part... I stand here trying to gather the words to tell her..I don't know if it's the right words I need or the straight up courage. What would I say? How do I even start? How would she take it? Something tells me this is just a physical thing..something tells me I don't know what the hell to do or say or feel or think..what the hell is going on??? I'd rather be guessing for the rest of my lifethan knowing that she can't be with me. That she doesn't want to be with me. That she's in love with Blake...

"Are you sure?" Tori asks. I couldn't be more sure about what I feel for her..but...

Tori sits, waiting for my answer. Waiting for something. Anything. And I stand, waiting for her to give me a sign. Anything. As if what had just happened wasn't sign enough..

Tori sighs, "Dustin.." She starts, "Are you sure?" She stares at me with the saddest eyes. Big blue glassy eyes. I look at her and can't help but lose myself in her stare. What do I say? Dude, I can tell her everything.. I can tell her so much...

I swallow hard. I sigh. I attempt to speak but nothing comes out. My heart is in my throat.

"Fine!" Tori blurts, coldly , "I see how it is." She stands up and walks over to me, "Go away. Just leave me alone." She pushes me.

"What?" I ask, confused. Tori is way confusing. I don't get her, sometimes.

"I see how you are..just leave."

"Wait Tori.....wait a minute." I say, holding her arms from attempting to force me out of her room. Sighing, she pulls her arms from my grasp and crosses them to her chest. I have to say something... I have to...

"What is it, Dustin?" Tori seems annoyed with me, as usual. But with all these mixed signals I just can't tell anymore. As I try to find the words, I sigh. I have to say something.

"Well.." Tori waits impatiently for me to speak.

"Tori...um.." C'mon Dustin...C'mon...dude, tell her..just tell her...

"Dustin..Just say it.." Tori uncrosses her arms. She reaches her hand out to touch mine.

"Tori..there's...something.." I fight to get out words that make some kind of sense. My heart is pounding, my palms are sweaty. I feel my body shaking and I can't tell if it's from my nerves or the water still dripping off of me.

"Yeah.." Tori motions with her hands for me to keep talking. Just get on with it. Make a point. Make some sense,dude.

"Well..you know.." Uuggh! Is that it?

"Look, D.. I .. I really don't know.. ok.. I don't know whats going on..everything I thought I knew, I ... I just don't know anymore...does that make any sense to you?" Tori squeezes my hand in hers.

"Well..yeah.. I mean.. it could..it..makes sense." I stutter. I'm talking gibberish.. I really am slow and doofy. Dude, the girl of my dreams is half naked in front of me, wide open, and I can't even make a sentence. This is what I wanted..a chance to tell her everything.. a chance to spill the story of my aching, longing heart to her and hope she'll feel the same. Or at least understand and be ok with it. With me. With this entire complicated situation...

"Oh..forget it..nevermind.." Tori eases her grip and lets go of my hand. She spins around and walks over to her bed. She picks up her pajamas and lays them out as I stand there watching her, still trying to speak. Tears build up behind my eyes. I love you...God, I love you..now say it out loud, dude. Just fucking say it you asshole!

"And yeah, it was just a mistake..just a mistake...That will never...never...happen again." Tori firmly scolds, staring at me coldly, "Got that? I'm gonna change, now...do you mind?" Tori kindly kicks me out of her room. She looks at me, looking at her. A tear leaks down my face. "Um..leave.." Tori says. What the hell? I turn and angrily walk out of her room, slamming her door a little harder than I had intended to.

"Bitch!" I mumble under my breath. Why do I feel bad for saying that? Why? What the hell is wrong with me? What am I doing? She was all over me! She was fighting herself from going further...fighting herself..not me...But it's just what I thought anyway..physical...Big fucking mistake..I don't get this! This is bullshit! How can she just come out and say all of this hurtful stuff to me? To her best friend...if I ever said anything to hurt her I am so sorry...maybe she's still mad at me for the argument we had the day of the party...maybe she's still disgusted with me for how I acted at the party.. I just don't get her.. I don't get her at all... and maybe that's why I can't say anything.. I can't seem to get the words out.. maybe its for a reason... maybe it's a sign.. I was looking for one and there it is... screw this whole deal..screw this entire situation..screw my feelings.. I've been hurt before.. and this should be no different... I'll just forget all of this... I don't think I really have much of a choice at this point.. my heart can't take no more.. I don't want to take no more... not if it's going to kill me... and I'm already dying... maybe I'll just move out... that's the only other option if I want to salvage this friendship...

I pace around my room, angry...hurt...I hold my chest...God it hurts..my heart hurts... I lean against the door and slide down onto the floor. I can't hold back my tears..God this hurts...I pick up my cell phone off of the floor, where the rest of my clothes that I rushed to take off earlier, lay. In a rage, I throw my phone across the room, sending it crashing into the wall...oops...

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A/N: Hello all! This has got to be one of my favorite chapters...I know, I know....what the hell is wrong with Dustin?? Can't he just tell her already! It shouldve so happened just now, but...then if that was the case...the events in the next chapter would be in vain...actually Blake still wouldn't have given a shit...ssshhhhh.. I'm not saying one word...thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews..this story is reaching its end...very soon...let me know what you think.. oh man do I wish I was Tori in this chapter lol

cyn


	26. I admit that I am just a fool for you

First things first…. Marah is not pregnant. Thank God! Now that's something to be happy about….if nothing else. I'm totally clean. No diseases. No infections. Great. I'm healthy and completely without child and I'm feeling good. Well…somewhat good. As good as I can be…

It's been a week since the infamous half naked shower incident….and I haven't felt more uncomfortable around Tori. Just afraid of what's going to happen next. But I can't take much more of this at all. And all this confusion and keeping my feelings bottled up is about to change….

- - - - - - -

"I pack up and head out again in a week. This experience is so…liberating." Cam speaks, sipping a bottle of Gatorade.

"Wow.. I wish I could travel.." Ivette sighs. Her head resting in her hands, she looks up at Cam in awe of his travel stories.

"Where are you off to this time?" Shane asks. In front of him is this huge plate of disco fries. Extra cheese and gravy on the side.

"South Africa… I've always wanted to go." Cam steals a cheese covered French fry from Shane's plate.

"Dude!!" Shane growls. We laugh. Me, Shane, Cam, and Ivette sit in a booth at the Blue Bay Diner. One of Tori's favorite places to come to for a late night snack with friends…

"Dustin…you okay?" Ivette asks, breaking my daydream.

"Sorry…yeah.. I'm just thinking.." I play with the straw in my lemonade.

"Yeah, dude..you didn't even order any food..you feelin' okay?" Shane asks. My friends stare at me, concerned. Even Cam.

"I'm ok…not all that hungry…" I blurt.

"Dustin…" Ivette says "Remember what we talked about?"

"Yeah." I sigh.

"Is that what's wrong?" She asks, her eyes, big, staring at me.

What we talked about..yeah…see, Ivette likes me…a lot…but, I had to tell her the truth about how I feel about Tori. For her sake. I don't want to hurt her. Never. She didn't take it so well at first, but, she completely understood…after she sat and thought about it. She hasn't really been her usual cheery, happy self since we had that conversation a couple of days ago.

"That's what's always wrong." I lower my head. Ivette runs her fingers through my hair.

"Wait…we are talking about Tori here, right?" Cam asks. Damn…the entire world must read it off my forehead..

"Of course." Shane sighs, "I told him to just tell her already, but no…he wont listen."

"It's not that easy, dude!" I lift my head. I'm such a mess.

"Dustin.." Cam lovingly smirks. At least I hope his smirk is loving…"Trust me, you have nothing to worry about."

"What do you mean?" My eyes widen…wait, so she said something to him?

Cam reaches a hand across the table and pats me on the shoulder. "Just trust my genius on this one." He smiles, sipping his drink. Shane lets out a giggle, winking at me. Do they know something that I don't?

"Dude, things are happening between us and neither of us want to confront them.." I confess , "I mean, what the fuck? We might as well be married already with the way we are towards each other. I'm just worried about what she feels for Blake…dude..I can't handle having feelings for anyone else.."

"Well, you get over it.." Ivette barks, sighing heavily.. "Or, at least you try.." She glances at me then quickly looks away. I feel like a jerk. I'm doing to her what I don't want done to me. That can't be good karma…

My eyes scan the room and grow fond of a used napkin that was crumbled and dropped on the floor. Reminds me of my life. My emotions in general. Aahh…and the ketchup smeared into the napkin – a perfect substitute for blood…

"Dude, you guys are basically dating without the title." Shane speaks while chewing a wad of fries, "I mean, c'mon, Dustin…you meet her for lunch, she comes to Storm Chargers with food for you..um…what else…Oh yeah, you guys kiss each other on the lips. And not like a normal tap kiss either…like…it's so , like, longer than that, bro.."

"Yeah… I know what you mean.." Cam agrees.

"It's really just a tap.." I say.

"No..it's really not.." Cam insists, "And if you still, at this point, don't see that you two are completely infatuated with one another, than you are either (a) an idiot, or (b) in insecure denial."

"Wait, you really think she's into me like that?" I hint at a smile, blushing.

"Wow….Don't make me choose (a)." Cam barks.

"Word." Shane agrees, "You have to tell her..right now."

"Right now?" I feel my heart jump to my throat.

"Right now!" Ivette jumps, "You have to! You have to tell her!"

"Dude, where is she?" Shane asks, looking at his watch.

"She's at the beach. She wanted to catch some waves today. I was supposed to go with her, but….I don't know…." I explain.

"So, go get her!" Cam's eyes widen to an almost scary glare.

"Uh..um.." I scratch my head.

"Get up and go to the beach.." Ivette pushes me out of the booth.. "And go fucking tell her!"

I stand looking at my friends like they're crazy. No way! Now? But…but…there are people at the beach..that would be totally embarrassing…

"What are you waiting for?" Shane asks, "She won't say no."

"Go get her!" Cam laughs, "Don't be afraid. You love her..don't deny it anymore! Don't hide it! A ninja is always true to himself and what he feels. Always."

Cam's words hit me like I never thought they would in a situation like this. He is right. And I am a ninja. And the truth is, I love Tori. And it's about time she knows it.

"I love her! Yes! I love her!!" A huge smile finds it's way on my face. Full of a sudden rush of adrenaline, I nod at my friends, "Oh…She is so gonna be mine!"

"Go! Go!!" Ivette squeals.

"Dude, go on! Get outta here!" Shane shoos me away. One last grin, and I quickly run out of the diner and into my car.

Oh man, here goes everything and nothing all at once…

I start my car and quickly race down the streets ofBlue Bay Harbor, headed towards the beach. Dammit! Stopped at a red light. I am so anxious and antsy. I don't wanna sit here. It's driving me insane. C'mon! Turn green…C'mon… I take a quick glance at myself in the car mirror. The way I always did before I knew I'd see Tori. I didn't notice the light turning green at first. Suddenly, noticing, I hit the gas. Just then, some dude totally cuts me off, seemingly coming out of nowhere. I swerve to the left, only to realize I was in the wrong lane, and an oncoming car was speeding straight towards me..Fuck…I suddenly swerve hard to the right, losing control of the car. Oh shit..no….no…..this can't happen…not now….

I struggle to gain control of the car. Screaching and swerving…Oh my God…I don't wanna die…not now…Got it!.. I pull over. My heart is about to explode. My nerves are shot and I'm having trouble breathing. As I sit, my car parked and still running on the side of the road, I focus on catching my breath. Wow.. my life really did flash before my eyes. And all I saw was Tori…

Just then I notice the car that had cut me off, pull over right in front of me. Wait a minute….. I know that car….

Blake?!? What the fuck!?? This dude just tried to kill me!!! I shake my head, watching Blake get out of his car and, in a rage, walk towards me.

That's it…..

I furiously push open my door and climb out of my car.

"What the fuck is your problem!? I've has enough of this shit!!!" I slam my car door, meeting Blake face to face on the side of the road. Just like my dream…almost..

"I warned you Dustin!! I warned you!!" Blake points that damn finger in my face again.

"Warned me? Warned me what? You just almost killed me!!" I yell at him.

"Tori!!! And what did ya do, huh?? You touched her! You fuckin' Touched her!!" Blake wails. He shoves me, hard, into my car door. Oh….hell….no….

I swing at him, catching him in the face. Unfortunately, not as hard as I wanted to..Just then, I feel knuckles to my jaw. Thinking quick, I grab his arm and lean to the left, blocking his next punch. I bring my knee forward into his stomach, still holding his arm, I quickly flip him over and onto the ground. With Blake down, I have about 2.5 seconds before the pain his hit had left on my jaw begins to register. I rub my face a bit, in an attempt to ease the throbbing.

"C'mon, Blake!! C'mon, get up!!" I taunt.

"Fuck you!!!" Blake yells out, grabbing his stomach, still on the ground. "You took her!! You fucking bastard! You took her!! I hate you, Dustin!! I want you dead!!"

"What?" I blurt. What the hell is he talking about? "She was never yours Blake! Lets face it! You never had her!! And I love her!! And I wont let you or anyone else get in the way of that!! Not anymore!!"

"AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!" Blake growls as he lunges at me with all his might. He round house kicks me right in the ribcage. DAMMIT!!!! I ignore that sudden jolt of pain that shot throughout my entire right side of my body. Without thinking I lay a quick low punch, high punch, kick combo, sending Blake back down onto the ground. A part of me feels way guilty, as I look down at my navy friend attempting to stand up. His lip is busted open and his elbow is scraped.

"Dude…dude.. I'm sorry…dude…" I bend over to help him up.

I notice him reach into his pocket and pull something out. Oh great… I throw my arms up over my face to block the blunt object as Blake swings at me. What the hell? I struggle trying to block myself from his blows and at the same time trying to get him off of me. I finally, use all my energy and right hook him in the face. Blake stumbles back. I quickly jump away, breathing heavily, and pissed as all hell. I notice blood all over my shirt. What on earth??….blood was dripping onto the ground and all over me from a huge deep gash in my forearm. And it was bleeding badly. Blake had pulled out a mean blade. This is no joke. I throw my fists up..

"Are you serious???" I furiously yell. Is he really trying to kill me? I cant deal with this right now..

" I want you gone!! Ya hear me?? Out of her life! Outta my way for good!!" Blake growls. He's gone mad! I could stay here and fight.. I could…I nervously look at Blake…..swallow hard…then nervously glance at the blood, everywhere…the option of making a run for it and getting the hell outta here seems way smarter. By now, my clothes are splattered with blood…and I think I've had enough..

Suddenly, I break for my car door, opening it and jumping in. I hadn't turned the car off luckily. Blake is after me, still. He tries to stab at me through the window as I speed off. Fuck this!! I look back to see him kicking dirt and yelling obsene things at me. Oh dude… that was fucking crazy… I reach into the back seat and grab my towel from work. I attempt to wrap it around my arm. Oh…. It hurts like hell…..My right arm, is burning so badly from the open wound. The oilstained towel isn't helping….Suddenly, my left shoulder starts to sting. I look over and notice my shoulder was bleeding. Blake had stabbed into my shoulder as I drove off.

"This is fucking psycho!!!" I yell out in a rage, "Oh, dude!!!! Oh, fuck!!"

Finally, I park right next to her blue van. Tori's van. So, I know I shouldve gone straight to the hospital, but…. I need her…She has to know. Even if it means I bleed to death saying those three words. I need her by my side. I need her to know.. I park and jump out of my car. I dash down onto the sand. Surprisingly, no one is around. The waves are rough and high. Where is she? Oh no… I start to feel a little light headed between my nerves, the wind, the pain and the blood loss, I'm a wreck.

Tori, suddenly appears, running out of the water, holding her surf board. I feel like I'm seeing her for the first time. All over again. She doesn't notice me as she walks towards me with her head down.

"Tori!" I yell out, running towards her, "Tori!!"

Startled, She looks up at me. Her eyes bolt from their sockets and her face drops to the floor.

"OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD, DUSTIN!!!" She drops her board and runs as fast as she can up to me, "Oh my God!!!! Oh my God!!!!! We gotta get you to a hospital!! Now!!" She gently grabs for my bleeding arm, placing her hand over the bloody towel. She attempts to lead me to the cars. I pull back.

"Wait…no..wait…just.." I say, tears in my eyes.

"Wait?? Dustin, are you insane??!! You're hurt!! We have to go, now!! Oh my God!! What happened??" Tori's eyes tear. I feel her shaking.

"Tori.. I'm ok.. just listen.." I say, feeling everything I feel for her overflowing, "I –"

"No!! C'mon!! You're bleeding!! We have to go, now! Dustin, please!!" Tori attempts to take me to the cars once more. As I pull her back, I spin her around into my arms and kiss her. Confused and freaked out, she pulls away. Her shirt, stained with my blood. "What are you doing??" tears pour from her eyes.

"Tori!! I love you!! I love you with everything that I am!! I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you before! All this time I was so afraid! But I can't hide it anymore! I need you… I love you so much.. I need you so much!!" I pour my heart out to her all while releasing months worth of held in emotions and tears. I don't even care anymore..let me cry..let me bleed..all for her….Tori stares at me, tears running down her cheeks. In shock. In shock of all of this. All of this at once.

"Dustin, you are losing a lot of blood!! C'mon!! Please!!" Her screaming and crying grows louder and more intense as she grabs my arm and cradles it in hers.

"I don't care! You're all that matters to me! Nothing else, Tori! I care about you more than anything else in this world! You are the beautiful in all this ugly!! Don't you see?? My heart is in your hands! Please, Tori! I love you!!"

"Dustin!!!!" Tori pulls me as hard as she can towards the cars, "We have to go!!!" I feel my heart breaking into a million pieces…more pain than any physical wound can ever inflict. So that's it?? Why??No…..no… I stare at her, pain in my eyes. Tori is crying like crazy, the wind blowing her wet hair in her face. "C'mon!!! What are you doing??" She cries hysterically now, still trying to pull me. I push her locks from her eyes and caress her cheek. Tori gives up on pulling me further..She lets out a frustrated scream, and cries harder.

"I love you!!! I always have!! Always!!" She throws herself into my bloody arms and I hold her as tight as I can.. As tight as I always wanted. I kiss her forehead as we embrace each other. Both of us crying in each others arms. And neither of us need to say anymore.

Suddenly, I feel my head spinning and my knees buckle. I'm so weak… and drained….

"Dustin!! No!!!" Tori screams. That's the last thing I hear as the world goes black…

- - - -

A/N: OMG!!! NO!! How can I just end it like that!!?? I know, im sorry…I just wanted to say a special thank you to my boo bear for helping me out with this chapter. Please read and review!! Tell me everything that's running through your minds!! Good and bad!! I love your feedback! It really helps and is greatly appreciated! You guys rock ! this story is hanging on a string its so close to ending.. like two more chapters….that's it…im working on a sequel though that's going to blow this one out of the water…im excited about it..well hope you liked this so far

cyn


	27. Feeling free

This isn't home. The bright lights……the white walls….. Dude, its way cold in here….where am I? And more importantly, how the hell did I get here? My eyes, hurting like mad from the bright light, attempt to adjust. I turn my head to see my guardian angel sitting by my side…woah….God, she looks more amazing than ever. My groggy eyes glued to her, she smiles at me. Seemingly happy to see me..nice…

"What….what happened?" I yawn, slowly sitting up..dude, my body is like in shut-down mode. I look down at my bare chest, "Hey….where's my shirt?" Dude….oh, right….my right arm is heavily bandaged. Ah…and so is my left shoulder. But, thank God for these painkillers 'cuz I don't feel a thing…just tired…and kinda out there…

"You fainted." Tori speaks differently. Her voice is thick and pure. Real. No artificial sweetening. She gently holds my hand in hers, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? I don't get it.." I ask. Why is she sorry? Oh man..the whole beach incident…dude, I almost forgot….she's sorry she doesn't feel the same way… I totally blew it! But…wait…..she told me she loved me…I remember…

"I'm sorry I put you through all of this…I'm so sorry this happened..and its all my fault.." Tears build glossy, transparent walla over Tori's beautiful blue eyes.

"Tori, seriously….what are you talking about?" I don't really understand why she should be sorry…I don't even think she knows what happened…that it was totally Blake…that he just….snapped..

"Well.." Tori sighs, grasping my hand tight, "I guess this is a day of confessing the truth…altogether…you see, Blake came out of nowhere today to see me. I had no idea…and he just..shows up. Well, he finally built up the courage to ask me out. I mean seriously.."

"And…what did you say?" I nervously ask. I feel my heart attempt to speed up through all this medication.

"I just had to tell him the truth.. I just had to.."

"And…what's the truth?" my eyes study Tori's face. Her eyes studying mine.

"That I am in love with Dustin Brooks." She pauses, "And not Blake Bradley." A tear trickles down her smooth pale cheek. I wipe it away with my hand.

To hear her say those words is to hear the most beautiful music ever played. My whole body tingles as my heart skips a beat.…Tori loves me…she loves me… I gaze at her in disbelief and happiness all at the same time.

"You are?" I double check. I am hearing her right, am I? Dude..you know…I am kinda doped up.

"I am." Tori lets out a giggle, "God, I so am."

"I love you, too… Oh dude, so much..More than you'll ever know.." If the words I speak at this moment were any more true… I just don't know…

Tori's face lights up. She blushes. Then, her smile fades to a look of guilt.. "Well…so, Blake didn't take the news very well at all…he threw a fit and got highly emotional. He scared me…totally freaked me out…then he said,'You know, one day you'll regret ever saying that.' And he walked away. I didn't think anything of it… I mean I just thought he was just hurt and speaking nonsense…that he'd just get over it in time and be himself again..I mean, I didn't want to hurt him.. I hated to have to hurt him…Then when I saw you..when you ran up to me, bleeding and hurt…I just knew it…I knew it was Blake..and it was all my fault….all because of me.." Tears run down Tori's cheeks like crazy…awe… I hate it when she cries.

"Awe..baby…come here.." I motion for her to sit with me on the hospital bed. I grab her and hold her in my arms. She wraps her arms around me and buries her head into my bare chest, "Nothing is your fault..nothing…don't apologize for Blake! He's fucking insane dude! He's crazy… I … I just.. I can't believe him…he…he's….he's totally fucked up!"

"I'm afraid of him, Dustin… I'm afraid of what he'll try to do to us" Tori confesses, " He called my cell phone, Dustin… He told me everything..he was a wreck.. he said he was sorry…he didn't know what came over him.. he didn't think.. but that's the same thing he said before, when he first flipped out on you… I don't trust him." She pauses, "Do you want to press charges?" Tori is shaking. Her tears splashing against my skin. I don't want her to be upset. I don't want her to be afraid.

"Tor…It's ok…as long as we're together…everything is ok.." I say. And as stupid as it sounds, I don't care about anything but her right now. But what else is new…

" It's not ok! He attacked you!" Tori barks. She squeezes me tighter, "What if he… I don't even want to think about it!"

"Blake is not going to kill me… I swear it….that dude is like, 4 feet tall!" I joke. No more drama. I'm done with the drama..

"But.." Tori sniffles.

"Look…we had a fight… It's done… I don't like him…he doesn't like me..that's that. I'll stay away from himm the same way I've been doing..It'll boil over…wait til hunter finds out..trust me." I sigh, "Can we just go home and be together now? Finally..without the drama..the lies…the tension. Please…It's about time we stopped worrying about what to or not to say and just…relax.."

"Sounds great." Tori looks up at me with watery eyes and grins, "So..are you gonna introduce me as your girlfriend from now on or what?"

My face brightens up, out shining the hospital lights, "Oh God, I love you!" I bring her in for a deep passionate kiss.

"Is that a yes?" Tori asks, as we part, eager to make this official.

"Yes. Hell yes!" I hole her close to me. I wont let her go. Ever.. I am so…like…woah…A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. And Shane was right.. I would've saved myself so much anguish and stress. But I wouldn't change any of this for the world. Any of it…

"DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH SHIT, DUDE, ARE YOU OKAY???????????!!!!!!!!!!" Shane busts through the door. Followed by Kelly, Cam and Ivette. And this time, me and Tori don't have to pretend. Holding her still, we both look at our friends.

"I'm fine..just a little doped up…" I laugh, "It's kinda cool!"

Cam shoots a smile towards me and Tori. He nods and I understand.

"Dustin, I was so worried! Oh my God, I didn't know what to think! All I heard was that you got stabbed and you were in an accident! My heart is going a mile a minute!" Kelly puts her hand to her heart and sighs.

"Kel! Who's watching the store?" I quickly blurt..Dude, all of her employees are in this room.

"No one.. I kicked everyone out and closed. I left a sign on the door that said 'be back in an hour.' Dustin you're more important to me than a few sales..and anyway, I own the place, I can do what I want!" Kelly laughs with relief.

"What happened?" Ivette blurts. Her arms are crossed in front of her and her eyes look red. She looks like she's been crying.

"It's a long…weird….story…can we just get outta here? I'll you on the way.. I'm worked.." I say, gently caressing Tori's back. This feels so amazing.. I'm still in shock…dude…

"Yes, you need to get some sleep.. I think you're way overdue…c'mon lets get gone." My girlfriend takes my hand and helps me to my feet. Yes..lets get outta here…

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A/N: Hey!!! Only 2 more short chapters to go and then this is so over…well not completely…but the first installment…back in school if I had to write a 2 page paper I would write a 5 page .. I cant help how long my stories are…sorry!  In my next one I'm gonna try not to drag it on as much… I said try…lol so don't hold me to it! So anyway, the story is basically done…and I have brainstormed for the next one..if you like fics on drama, angst, romance, sex (woop), as much as I do lololol than you should def look out for it! Thanks so much for reading!

Cyn


	28. So take a breath and close your eyes

Shane decided he'd go to Vanessa's for a while to give me and Tori some alone time. After I had described to everyone what happened, no one could say a word. Never in a million years would anyone have thought that this could happen. I thought maybe I should call up Hunter and tell him, but I don't know. Tori thinks I should press charges, but I don't really want to go through all of that. The law can be a bitch, dude! I like to avoid it whenever I can. Plus, a part of me feels bad for Blake. I know, I know, I sound like a moron right now but, loving someone can do crazy things to you. It's like your heart does the thinking…the reacting….which in most cases isn't smart at all. You act on impulse..which a highly trained ninja impulse can have fatal consequences. At this point, I can have 100 stab wounds, and I'm still the happiest dude in the world. As for Blake, I just.. I don't know…I'm too good of a person sometimes. I hate it!! But I feel bad for him…

On the upside, I'm glad that I don't have to feel like the worlds biggest dirtbag anymore 'cuz I think Cam and Ivette like each other..that'd be sweet! Now here we are…me and Tori..resting on her bed….

"You okay?" She asks, running her fingers through my hair.

"I'm good…this shit is really bothering me." I hold my bandaged arm up. In total, I scored 32 stiches.

"You see, we should've went to the pharmacy… I told you!" She's right..but I'll live. With her by my side I'll live.

"I know… I'm just tired." I say , closing my eyes. Her fingers on my scalp feel amazing. And I never have to hide my feelings again. "That feels good." I say.

"Yeah? Good." Tori gently kisses my forehead.

"Tori.."

"Yes, my love.." I hear a smile in her voice.

"How long have you felt this way?" I ask.

"For you?" She asks.

"Yeah."

"Honestly, I really believe that I've felt this way since we met…since we were kids.."

"Really?" I open my eyes to see her, smiling at me.

"Yeah.. I mean it was always there….subconsciously, you know? There was something and I didn't realize it.. I didn't understand why I was so drawn to you..protective over you. And I got so jealous of all the other girls..oh God! Always!! Especially Euyi! Oh man, when you started dating her I was ssssooooooooooooooooooo jealous!! I hated her so much! I'm the only girl that should ever be special to you. Ever!" Tori giggles.

"You've always been." I caress her beautiful face. She closes her eyes.

"And I really started to understand my feelings. And realize how much I truly love you. And how attracted I am to you. That was my biggest obstacle.. It's weird when you grow insanely attracted to your best friend! When you wanna kiss that person…hold that person…yeah…. Usually friends don't think of each other in that way… I mean, you hit puberty and oh boy…you really grew up to be a hottie!" Tori continues, biting her bottom lip.

"In what way?" I grin. Yeah, I know what she's talking about…

"You know, **that** way.." Tori bites her lip, "I think about it a lot. More than I should."

"Ooohh..what do you think about?" My grin grows more devious. Oh yeah…

"Ok, before this conversation turns into an x-rated play by play.." Tori rolls her eyes.

"Nice!" I giggle.

"So anyway.." Tori playfully sucks her teeth, "Why didn't you say anything? Why couldn't you tell me how you felt?"

"I was so afraid of you taking it weird…and like, laughing at me..or saying no…or… I was just so scared.. I don't know… I wanted to..everyday.. I tried..but I couldn't.." I sigh, "Half the time, I couldn't even speak straight when I was around you, let alone spill my heart.. I didn't wanna make things weird..and I didn't wanna make you think of me differently…. But by me not saying anything, it was way weirder.."

"I was petrified! I was so scared of you not feeling the same way, and thinking I was nuts! Wow! This whole time! In a way, I tried to make myself fall for Blake.. to try to get rid of my feelings for you..I know that sounds horrible, but I didn't know what else to do.. I mean best friends falling for each other usually never works out..and I didn't wanna risk ruining our friendship. But now, I cant deny you anymore. And this is a risk I'm more than willing to take."

"Me too. But I know this is gonna work.. I know it.. I can feel it.. and one day…I'm gonna marry you." I blurt.

Tori looks at me with a shocked look on her face. Her eyes widen. She sighs. "Really?" She pauses, trying to find the words to say, "Wow..well.. I hope you're right.. I'd.. I would like that a lot.. one day.."

"I've never felt this way about anyone before. Never. This is new..and I've had my share of so called love.. but nothing like this.. my feelings for you are so strong..and pure..and true.. I'd do anything for you.. I want to do anything for you!" I laugh, "I want to take care of you and pamper you and treat you like a queen. I have not one doubt about this.. not one.. I swear I'll make you so happy, Tori..anything you want.. just ask.. I promise.. you make me wanna stand up in the middle of a crowded street and sing.. and I can't sing for shit, but I get this random urge to! Freaky! You make me wanna… wake up in the morning… dude, I hate mornings!! But I can't wait to get outta bed to see your face..to hear your voice..your smile.. your laugh..even if you're laughing at me! You make me just wanna give up anything that's unnessesary in my life and be a better person.. think better..take care of myself better..eat salad! Be more motivated..not be an airhead.." I laugh.

Tori giggles through teary eyes, "You are not an airhead.."

"You are all I've ever wanted in this world. You are all that truly matters to me. Not video games. Not motocross. Not bikes. Not pizza. Not ninja training. Not Angelina Jolie….well….on second thought.." I kid.

"What??" Tori's face distorts.

"I'm just kidding!" I wink, "But seriously.. I love you. And that's more the truth than the truth. There are no words.. none. its that deep.."

"I love you so much, Dustin." Tori squeezes me in her arms, sniffing back tears, "Ditto. I feel the same.. No words. You make me happier than I've ever been. And I cant wait to be with you. Hopefully for the rest of my life. You and only you."

We lay, holding each other. Taking in our first real moment together. I'm so stoked to get all of this off my chest. Finally. Even if my arm and my shoulder are throbbing with pain. Now, I'll have love scars.

I brush Tori's hair from her face and pull her close to me. Our lips touch and I swear it feels like our first kiss all over again. Her tongue finds its way in my mouth and she grabs the back of my head. Her lips taste so good. My hands explore her skin…her curves.. I want her now..all of her.. I feel her hands all over me, exploring me. I want to see the parts of her I've never seen.. I wanna go to places I've never been.. I cup her breast through her shirt and she lets out a little moan.. I guess she took that as a cue to sneak her hand in my pants..she's rubbing me and driving me insane…Oh Tori…

"I'm ready.." She whispers , "Make love to me. I wanna feel you. All of you." She slips her pants off and pulls her shirt off over her head. She unhooks her bra and soon she's laying on the bed, naked. Completely. She is….so…so unbelievable. And I'm so nervous. I've never laid eyes on anything more perfect in my life. The mold was forever broken as soon as she took her first breath. I swallow hard, studying her. She smiles warmly at me. And she's just as nervous as I am. "here.." She sits up, her hair falling to cover her breasts slightly. "Let me help you." She starts to help me take my clothes off. And, this is me. Totally. Here we are studying each other..seeing each other fully..no clothes..no lies..all natural. My heart is racing. Oh dude…this is it… I hold Tori in my arms as I kiss her. I gently lower her down onto the bed, my hands all over her. Lower…lower…she moans as I explore her warm place…

"I love you. You are so beautiful." I whisper in her ear, as I make love to her for the first time , all night.

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A/N: Woah…man I wish I could make this nc-17!!!!!!!!! Well, I hope you liked this just as much as I do… only one more short chapter left..thanks so much for reading! Tori and Dustin 4ever!!!! Hehehe

cyn


	29. Here let me explain

I decided not to press chargers on Blake at all. Actually, even if I wanted to, I didn't have to…that night after our confrontation on the side of the road, Blake had attempted to hang himself in his dorm room. Luckily, Hunter walked in just in time to save his life, but not before Blake had passed out from lack of air.Blake was rushed to the hospital and later, admitted into the psych-ward for attempted suicide, wreckless behavior, and a threat to himself and others. Yeah, I'd say so…. It turns out Hunter didn't even know anything that happened….anything at all about the fight me and Blake had…about what Blake did to me.. until Blake was doped up at the hospital and spilled it all out.. the police were brought into it and Hunter called me up in tears begging me not to throw him in jail.. dude, that wasn't even my intention… so that was done with. I feel so bad for Hunter. He's going through so much with this… and he got mad that no one had told him.. that he didn't know anything… but dude, I didn't wanna call him up and say, "Hey how are ya? Oh dude, by the way yeah your brother tried to kill me.." Maybe I was wrong for not saying anything.. But I don't know..honestly I figured Blake would run back to the dorm and tell Hunter the whole story…or some lie that he stabbed me in self defense..technically that would've worked.. I mean if I had a weapon too..and if Hunter would've believed him.. I don't know what I would've done… but luckily that wasn't the case.. and luckily Blake isn't dead..just away for a while.

It's been 3 weeks since and I hear he's doing well. He wrote me a letter to say how horrible he is and how he wishes I can find it in my heart to forgive him. But that if I never do, he understands. And he doesn't blame me. Well he shouldn't…like, seriously. He says that he wishes me and Tori the best and he hopes when he's released, we'll except him into our lives again. Dude, I can't stay mad at him forever…but it still feels weird. Tori's still afraid of him. She doesn't understand how I can forgive him for trying to kill me. As for Hunter, like I said before..he's not too good with this at all. But that's totally expected. When I can, I go to see him at his school. To check up on him. He says he's fine and not to worry. He has to be strong for Blake. He's way grateful I didn't call the cops…that would've been 100 times worse.. even though he could just plead insanity and he'd get off…

Cam is away again…traveling…seeing the world… apparently him and Ivette talk every night on the phone and plan to go on vacation together. She says they're just friends. Yeah, whatever…I heard that before…

Shane is getting ready to head out with his Skate dudes again. He leaves for the tour in a couple of days. He's skating with Element and he totally might get to skate with Bam Margera! Dude, that would be sicko bro! I'm gonna miss him like mad, but he'll be back…and he'll always have a place to stay. Ha! And also, he and Vanessa decided to settle down…hehehe… Dude, it's about time Shane has a girlfriend!!! Well, I'm not one to talk…

As for me and Tori…. Nothing can ever be more amazing.. it's almost a month into our relationship, and it feels like, we've been a couple for so much longer. And that's a good thing. Maybe it feels that way 'cuz I've known this girl like all my life. But whatever, we are so in love and so happy. She's everything to me and so much more. I can't even describe it. We have so much fun together. Even more than before now! We cant keep our hands off of each other! And I can't believe I've never really noticed it before…. I mean I never really caught on. The attraction that's always been there.. How much she wanted me too. Cam and Shane were right, I was oblivious. But now, we don't have to hide anymore. No more awkward. No more tension. No more denial. Only truth. Only pure, raw truth……hhhmmmmm… Victoria brooks…. I like the way that sounds… So this is what true happiness feels like, huh? A ninja can definitely get used to this…

THE END

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A/N: Wow..done..well for now anyways…I already started writing the sequel..like I said I'm gonna try to shorten it a bit. Maybe make the chapters longer so there aren't so many..well anyways thanks so much for reading my story! And if there is anything I forgot about or didn't explain about this one, please let me know.. hey by the way, is anyone on myspace??? Lol im such a dork! If you are let me know and I'll add u to my friends! My name is beatrix kiddo… If not you should log on and make a profile. Its fun..well anyways, I'll be posting the first chapter as soon as I can…thanks again so much! please r&r!

cyn


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